Rabi & Kharif ٹماٹر

Tomato

A short-cycle vegetable increasingly grown under protected structures.

Season: Rabi & Kharif
Transplanting: Aug–Sep / Jan–Feb
Harvest: Nov–Jan / Apr–Jun
Duration: ~120 days

Grown in: Sindh, Balochistan, Punjab. Windows are indicative and shift with district, altitude and season.

Overview

Why tomato matters

Tomato is grown in the open field across Sindh and Balochistan in winter and in Punjab in spring and autumn, with tunnel cultivation expanding to cover the off-season price window.

Growing conditions

Climate and soil

Climate

Warm days and cool nights, 20–27 °C. Fruit set fails above 35 °C and below 10 °C, which sets the planting calendar.

Soil

Well-drained sandy loam to loam rich in organic matter, pH 6.0–7.0.

Planting & sowing

Transplant four to five week old seedlings. Spring crop transplanted January to February; autumn crop August to September. Space 60×45 cm, using 100–125 g seed per acre.

Irrigation

Irrigate every 7–10 days, keeping moisture even through flowering and fruit set. Fluctuating moisture causes blossom-end rot and fruit cracking.

Fertilisation

Roughly 70 kg N, 50 kg P₂O₅ and 50 kg K₂O per acre with nitrogen in three splits. Calcium supply matters — blossom-end rot is a calcium-availability disorder, not an infection.