Are anyone's tomatoes still flowering? Mine stopped a couple of weeks ago, and I'd put it down to the drought until someone from Texas told me last night that he can't get them to flower at over 75 degrees. I'm now wondering whether it's down to the heat.
I never realised, but my neighbour pointed that out to me this very morning when watering, that there are many 'stopped' flowers on the plants this year ie they just haven't opened.
Same, upper trusses just aren't setting, the buds simply aren't opening.
We'll be growing the varities they grow in the Deep South if this continues.
Excerpt from magazine 'American Vegetable Grower' 1998:
The optimal temperature for pollination is within the range of 70deg to 82degF. Optimal relative humidity is 70%. Above 80% relative humidity, pollen grains stick together and are not dispersed well. With relative humidity less than 60% for extended periods, the stigma may dry out so that pollen grains will not stick to it. With ideal conditions, fertilization occurs 48 hours after pollination takes place.
I thougth I'd been doing something wrong...
???
Snap. Lots haven't set, particularly on the upper trusses.