The crop is grown from almost MSL to an altitude of 1500 m in tropical and subtropical regions, with an annual rainfall of 60-150 cm. Very high rainfall during its growth is harmful. When grown under hot weather, it is cultivated as an irrigated crop. The winter crop is planted from August to September. For organic farming of tomato winter crop has been found to be ideal.
Well drained sandy loam soil with high level of organic contents is best suitable for tomato cultivation. Soils with high acidity are not suitable for tomato cultivation. Three to 4 q of suitable lime can be applied in the field in an interval of three years to reduce the level of acidity to tolerable limits. There is a need to go for soil testing at the beginning of the crop season.
Land preparation
The land may be ploughed and harrowed 3 or 4 times to obtain a fine tilth. About 10 tonnes of Farm Yard Manure (FYM) or vermi compost/compost @ 1-1.5 t per acre is applied at the last ploughing. Green manuring is recommended for areas with assured rainfall and also for irrigated crop. Beds are prepared against the slope and after levelling the bed, field channels of 50 cm breadth are prepared at intervals of 1 m.