HOW TO: Grow beautiful tomatoes in prevalent wet conditions

Propping of tomato crop branches is a practice taking root among farmers who grow the crop during the rainy season in Subukia, Nakuru County.

Tomatoes are a preferred horticultural crop in the area as their returns are good. This enables farmers to raise revenue to meet their financial obligations.

Growing tomatoes during the rainy spell come with challenges of blight disease and rotting of fruits due to prevalent wet conditions on the farm. Although the practice is relatively expensive to undertake, the rewards are worth the expenses.

Propped tomato crops allow proper penetration of chemicals during spraying. Their fruits fetch high market prices as they are clean and in great shape. Farmers enjoy prolonged harvesting of fruits since the crops grow with minimal disturbance from husbandry practices that lead to flower fall.

Twigs from Grevillea or Cypress trees are sourced and stamped in the farm to form an arc over the tomatoes.

Strands from nylon sacks are used to prop tomato branches to the arc. Alternatively, small posts can be stamped on ends of a line of tomato crops, a thin strong wire is attached to the posts and the tomato crops twigs are propped to the running wire line with small nylon strands.