| Blind plants
(INCOTEC acronym BliPs) in tomato is a disorder concerning the
growing point.
It may occur early in development, resulting in a seedling
with no true leaves up to just one, two or three leaves. It can also occur
later in the plant development, after the 5th or 6th node has developed,
but at this stage, this is mainly an effect of growing conditions.
It is still not known exactly what causes blindness. |
If and to what
extent this sensitivity comes to expression, can depend on several
factors. Conditions during seed production, as well as during post-harvest
processing of the seed can increase the sensitivity, and may eventually,
when a "threshold" is passed, lead to an increase in blind plants.
Furthermore, germination and growing conditions can have an effect on the
occurrence of blind plants. Some more facts: |
- Tomato plants easily form side shoots, so after a while the plant
may recover. When grown at a plant raiser, these plants are often too
retarded to be useable, but when sown directly in the field, these
plants may not be noticed.
- Priming can have a dramatic effect on the occurrence of blind
plants; in sensitive cultivars increases of over 30% have been observed.
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