Tomato can be grown in a wide range of soils from sandy to heavy soils. Tomato is highly susceptible to water logging condition. A well drained sandy loam to loam soil, fairly fertile and rich in organic matter is ideal for tomato cultivation. The preferable pH range is 6-7. If the soil is acidic (below 5 pH) liming is advocated.

Tomato is a warm season vegetable. Tomato is highly susceptible to frost. Temperature has marked effect on fruit setting and colouration. The optimum temperature required for cultivation is 21-24oC. High temperature (380C) accompanied by low humidity and dry winds adversely affect the fruit set. Fruits set are usually poor either in low or high temperature. Excessive rains adversely affect its fruit set causing fruit drop as well as wilting of plants.

Tomato is native of South America (Peru). In India it is commonly referred as ‘poor mans orange’ because it contains ascorbic acid 20-30 mg/100g edible fruit). It is self pollinated and has chromosome number 2n = 24. It is annual vegetable. Fruit is climacteric and botanically known as berry. The fruits are eaten raw or cooked. It is widely used as salad. It adds variety of colour and flavours to the food and makes enrich the taste. The tomato is one of the most important protective foods because of its special nutritive value. It is rich sources of minerals, vitamins and organic acids like citric acid and mallic acid. Glutamic acid is an amino acid mostly present in tomato. Tomato contains many important minerals like Na, K, Ca, Mg, P, K, Fe, Zn and B. Tomato is a good appetizer and its soup is said to be good remedy for patients suffering from constipation. Its large quantities are used to produce soup, juice, ketchup, puree, paste and powder. Tomato is one of the remunerative vegetable under open as well as protected condition.

Tomato is a transplanted crop. A net area of about 225 m2 is required to raise the seedlings for one hectare land. Generally, the nursery beds are prepared in the size of 3m x 1m x 15cm. For raising healthy nursery, well decomposed FYM @ 3 kg/m2 area is mixed in the soil. Thereafter, soil should be treated with 2% formalin solution @ 0.5 l/m2 or thiram/captan @ 5 g/m2 or Trichoderma @10g/m2 area. Normally 300-400g seeds/ha are required for open pollinated varieties and 150-200g seeds/ha for hybrids varieties. Seed should be shown in June-July/September-October in foothills and lower hills and Feb-April in mid and high hills. Treated seed should be sown 0.5-1cm deep. Row to row spacing are kept 6-8 cm. Line sowing facilitates less incidence of damping off disease as compared to broadcast method. The seedlings are ready for transplanting between 4-5 weeks after sowing. The seedlings should be hardened before transplanted in the main field. Regular weeding is important to get healthy seedling.

Tomato being long duration crop needs a judicious application of manures and fertilizers. Tomato responds very well to added nutrients in soil. In general 15-20 tones well decomposed FYM and 100:60:60 kg NPK/ha has been recommended for various tomato varieties. Full dose of FYM should be applied at the time of last ploughing and incorporated into soil. Half dose of N, entire dose of P and K should be applied as basal dose. Remaining half dose of N is given in 2 split doses 30 and 60 days after sowing.

Tomato plants require adequate moisture throughout their growth period. First light irrigation should be applied immediately after transplanting the seedlings and continue for 3-4 days in the evening for better establishment. Frequent irrigation is essential for optimum plant growth and yield. There are three most critical stages of irrigation viz. immediate after transplanting, flowering and fruit development stage. Indeterminate or semi determinate type of varieties, staking is essential for getting high yield and quality fruits for longer time. Staking also prevents from pest and diseases infestation, easy harvesting and easy spraying of chemicals. Staking is done with the wooden branches or bamboo sticks. Staking should be done 20-25 days after transplanting.

Tomato fruits are ready for harvesting in about 70-100 days after transplanting. Fruits should be harvested at 4-5 days intervals in summers and 7-8 days intervals in winters. The stage of harvesting depends upon the purpose for which the tomatos are harvested