How to water tomatoes with iodine. The use of iodine for tomatoes: spraying and root dressing

In this article, we will tell you how to use iodine for tomato seedlings. AT recent times gardeners are increasingly using iodine as a fertilizer. This product will not harm plants or human health- it is absolutely harmless. Tomatoes are very sensitive to iodine fertilizer and react to it with rapid development.

For plant organisms, iodine is not a vital element, so the mechanism of its effect on the flora is poorly understood. Nevertheless, such an impact exists, and it is favorable. Iodine in small quantities has a stimulating effect on tomatoes, but large doses are extremely toxic. Therefore, it is so important to know how and in what quantity to water the seedlings.

By itself, iodine does not play a big role in the life of a tomato. It is not necessary to treat them with plants. This element acts as a catalyst, that is, it contributes to better absorption of nutrients and enhances the vegetable's own defenses.

Tomatoes can receive iodine from the soil, during top dressing, as well as during root and foliar processing. The need for such treatments depends on the soil and the chemicals you used.

Most iodine is found in soils such as:

  • chernozems;
  • red soils;
  • tundra peatlands;
  • chestnut soil.

Also, it must be taken into account that a large number of Some fertilizers also contain iodine.

These include:

  • manure;
  • phosphate rock;
  • peat;
  • wood ash;
  • peat ash.

How does iodine affect seedlings?

At correct application iodine will become a reliable assistant in growing tomatoes. They can feed the plants until the ovaries appear - it is not recommended to use it further.

As a result of exposure to iodine, the following changes occur:

  1. Begin to get better nutrients fertilizer, soil and air. For example, nitrogen will be processed so well that there will be no need for additional doses. This does not mean that the iodine solution can replace it - it just helps to fully absorb useful substances.
  2. It has a powerful bactericidal effect. Iodine can be treated, as well as prevent many fungal diseases, spots, and various rot. It has been established that iodine-treated tomatoes rarely get sick with viruses.
  3. Improved fruit quality. Watering seedlings with iodine solution contributed early flowering and ripening of tomatoes. Also, it was found that the element prevents seedlings from stretching, eliminates yellowness and lethargy of leaves, and strengthens the plant's immunity.

Once again, we note that iodine is not of particular importance for plants, while for the human body its role is inestimable. Watering seedlings with iodine significantly increases its content in tomatoes.

Lack of iodine - how to determine?

Iodine deficiency can be determined by the appearance of the plant.

Among the main features are:

  1. Regular illnesses. Mostly young plants are affected by root rot, mosaic, late blight and brown spot.
  2. The immune system of seedlings is reduced.
  3. Bad harvest. If untimely top dressing is carried out, then the tomatoes will give few fruits.

How to use iodine when growing seedlings?

Next, we will figure out how to properly prepare and use iodine-containing solutions. The most important rule to remember: in small quantities, iodine is a medicine and indispensable assistant, and in large ones - with a toxic substance and poison. It must be used in reasonable doses.

There are several ways to process tomatoes with iodine:

  1. Soaking seeds just before planting. Dissolve 1 drop of iodine in 1 liter of water. Soak the tomato seeds in the resulting solution for 6 hours, after which they should be sown immediately for seedlings. This procedure disinfects the planting material and contributes to the rapid spitting of the sprouts. Do not soak seeds that are covered with a colored shell.
  2. Watering the soil before planting seedlings. Dissolve 3 drops of iodine in 10 liters of water. The day before planting the seedlings, water the soil abundantly with this solution. This disinfects the soil and improves plant survival.
  3. Root treatment of seedlings. This process carried out by watering the plant. The first iodine dressing should be applied as soon as the second pair of true leaves appears on the plants. The nutrient solution is prepared as follows: dissolve 1 drop of iodine in 3 liters warm water. It is enough to slightly moisten the earth. One treatment of seedlings is enough to get a good harvest.
  4. Foliar processing. It is a spraying of seedlings with an iodine solution. It is carried out during the growing season. This procedure destroys powdery mildew spores and copes well with late blight. For this method of processing, a more concentrated solution will be required. Mix 2 liters of water with 0.5 liters of low-fat milk and add 2 drops of iodine there. Spray the seedlings with the resulting solution from the spray bottle. It is necessary to slightly wet the leaves and soil. Processing is carried out once.

In all cases, use a 0.1% solution of potassium iodide or sodium iodide.

Tomatoes are the most welcome guests on our table, naturally the best fruits are grown on our own. We ourselves control the process of growing and harvesting, pest and disease control, top dressing and harvest time. Naturally, we want the tomatoes not to get sick, rather, to ripen and bear fruit well. On a long journey, from sowing seeds to harvesting, many troubles lie in wait for us. But gardeners also have assistants, you just need to know about them and be able to use knowledge correctly. In today's article, I will tell you whether it is worth pouring iodine on tomatoes and what this will lead to.

Variety of tomatoes

What is iodine for?

Iodine is not a vital element for plants and its mechanism of action on plants is not well understood. But the fact that there is a positive effect of iodine is beyond doubt.

Please note: In small quantities this chemical has a stimulating effect on the plant, including tomatoes, but at high concentrations it is still toxic.

This item does not work decisive role in the life of tomatoes. Such processing is not necessary to carry out, the concepts of iodine deficiency of plants do not exist. It's just that this element has the role of a catalyst - which stimulates the absorption of all nutrients, activating the plant's defenses.

The plant can get iodine from the ground or fertilizers, foliar and root treatments. The necessity of such top dressing depends on the soil and chemicals used for fertilizer. The soils richest in this element are:

  1. Peatlands in the tundra
  2. Krasnozems
  3. Chernozems
  4. chestnut earth

The following soils are considered poor in iodine content:

  1. Podzolic
  2. gray forest
  3. Serozems
  4. Salt licks
  5. Burozems

If you know the composition of the soil in your area, then you can safely determine whether you need iodine, or use it only if there are problems with planting. It is also worth considering that this chemical element contained in:


It is also possible to contain in various inorganic and organic top dressing, but because it is not considered necessary element, then its content can be very small or very large, it all depends on where the raw material is taken from. No one adds it on purpose or cleans it from it.

The effect of iodine on tomato seedlings

When used correctly, it can become good helper on the various stages growth, until the appearance of tomato ovaries - further use is not recommended. Under the influence of iodine, the yield of tomatoes increases, while the development and resistance to pests and diseases is accelerated.

seedling tomato

Nutrient absorption

Anyone who writes that iodine for seedlings is bait is fundamentally wrong. It allows better use of nutrients from the earth, fertilizers and air. Helps to process nitrogen so well that there is no need for additional doses of it. This does not state that, having treated the seedlings with an iodine solution, nitrogen fertilization is not needed - it will not replace top dressing, but will help it assimilate as much as possible.

Iodine is an assistant in the fight against pests and diseases

This element has a powerful bactericidal effect. It is used for seed disinfection, prevention and treatment of phytophthora, various rot, fungi and spotting. It has been noted that tomatoes treated in this way are less susceptible to viruses. A plant damaged by a virus can only be destroyed; to protect neighboring plantings, there are currently no drugs against viruses. But in terms of prevention, iodine excellent tool. Potatoes, peppers, tomatoes are related crops, and therefore they have similar diseases with pests.

Please note: If you have small plot and it is not possible to swap cultures, then in addition to cultivating the land with preparations containing copper, you can also spill it with iodine solution.

Iodine helps in the fight against yellow leaves

Improved fruit quality

When watering tomato seedlings with iodine, it was noticed that it helps early flowering and fruit ripening. Subsequent experiments naturally confirmed this theory. This substance prevents the stretching of tomato seedlings, and in adult plants eliminates lethargy and yellow leaves, strengthens and stimulates the immune system of the plant.

Please note: at the beginning of fruit set, all treatments must be stopped! Both root and non-root.

If the effect of iodine on the plant does not of great importance, then for a person this role cannot be underestimated. Root treatments especially increase its content in fruits, which are the supplier useful substances for the body.

Iodine improves fruit quality

The use of iodine in growing seedlings

I will give popular recipes for the manufacture and use of iodine-containing drugs

  • In small quantities, this substance is a medicine and helper, in large quantities it is a toxic and poisonous substance. It must be used within reason.
  • Do not be afraid of processing plants and soil - in a solution of water it is in negligible concentration, so it will not be able to burn the roots or leaves.

Soaking seed before planting

One drop of the substance is dissolved in one liter of water, the seed is soaked in this solution for six hours, before planting. This approach will disinfect the seeds and stimulate germination.

Please note: coated seeds do not need to be soaked!

Seedling processing

Processing of tomato seedlings

This treatment is carried out not earlier than a week after the first fertilizing with fertilizers. The solution is prepared in the following way:

  1. A drop of iodine dissolves in a liter of water
  2. Two drops of iodine are dissolved in two liters of water with the addition of half a liter of milk.

In the early morning, the seedlings are watered with a watering can with a strainer so that the water gets on the foliage, you just need to slightly moisten the leaves and the ground.

Note: This procedure must be done only once.

Processing solution

Watering the soil before planting seedlings

Three drops of iodine are dissolved in ten liters of water and the soil is abundantly shed one day before planting seedlings. This approach will disinfect the soil, and make the plant survival better.

Please note: You may also need iodine after planting a tomato in open ground to fight diseases and eliminate stressful, negative factors.

Today, iodine is one of the ten essential elements to feed tomatoes greenhouse conditions. Therefore, you need to know how to properly fertilize tomatoes during their growth and fruit set.

Tomatoes in the greenhouse require regular feeding

Iodine - fertilizer for tomatoes

In order for tomatoes to develop properly, they need to be watered with iodine-containing fertilizers. If the plant is deficient in iodine, the growth of the bush is inhibited and the ripening of the fruit slows down. Also, iodine deficiency in a tomato leads to morbidity. planting material.

Effective processing of a tomato with a spray with an iodine solution, or feeding a plant mineral fertilizers containing iodine. The first top dressing is performed when the first brushes bloom, repeated after a two-week period.

A popular recipe for feeding tomatoes is an iodine solution, which includes a kilogram of iodine potassium and five liters of water. If it is not possible to find such potassium, you can use tincture of iodine. For one liter of water, add a glass of skimmed milk and five drops of iodine. Every nine meters of tomatoes must be treated with two liters of solution. Once you have prepared the solution, start processing and ration the fertilizer so as not to overdo it.

For ordinary plants level essential iodine replenished with that contained in the soil, and the tomatoes need additional feeding.

The first top dressing of tomatoes is carried out at seedling age. A couple of drops of iodine are diluted in four liters of water. and each seedling is watered with this solution. This provides the plant with good fruit set and disease resistance.

The use of a milk solution of iodine is popular. To feed a tomato with a milk solution of iodine, it is better to use raw milk. If not possible, sterilized will do. Lactose provides planting material with increased disease resistance, as many fungi and pests react negatively to it. To prepare such a solution, you need to use a liter of milk and fifteen drops of iodine for four liters of water.

Spraying with iodine helps fight late blight, so it is sprayed over the plant in the first month of summer.

To feed the seedlings, it is enough to dilute 2 drops of iodine in 4 liters of water.

Chemical processing of tomato

Chemical treatment of planting material has its own negative consequences for planting material, but watering seedlings boric acid quite popular. In order for a tomato to fully develop, it needs to be provided with boron nutrition, therefore, feeding a tomato with boric acid is a necessary and important measure in caring for planting material.

For fertilizing plants with boron, two methods are used:

In order for the plant to give a rich harvest, it needs boron, it is absorbed faster by spraying. Top dressing is done strictly at a certain time, so as not to harm the plant. Water the seedlings with boric acid several times to help absorb nutrients from the soil and form fruits.

Feed with boric acid several times a season:

  1. Before flowering begins, at the time of bud formation.
  2. When the bloom starts.
  3. At the time of fruit ripening.

The first treatment must be carried out before the tomato buds bloom

Each treatment should be carried out ten days after the previous one, but not less than this period. You can see the reaction of a tomato to watering with boric acid by appearance. if the tomatoes began to look worse, the processing stops completely.

Boric acid, as a top dressing for tomatoes, improves the quality of the crop, increases the flowering of the product and increases the quality of the vegetable several times.

Watering seedlings with boric acid is a preventive treatment against pests and fungus, it helps protect tomatoes from late blight. Seedlings are processed at the end of June. But first, the seedlings are treated with manganese.

For processing and watering seedlings with boric acid, you need to use a liter of solution for ten square meters. Such watering should ensure complete wetting of the plant. Boric acid is fertilized for various purposes, using about ten grams of the drug is dissolved in ten liters of water to protect the plant from pests.

Use of boron and iodine to improve crop quality necessary measure in care, spraying which allows you to strengthen the plant and increase the yield of planting material.

Every year, gardeners are increasingly using iodine for tomatoes as a fertilizer. This tool is not able to harm either human health or plants. Experts assure of its harmlessness, so use can be started as needed. As a rule, iodine is used for tomatoes in open field or greenhouse, as well as for watering seedlings.

tomato like vegetable crop, is very sensitive to iodine fertilization. Therefore, he often reacts to this top dressing with rapid development. But despite this, you will not find fertilizers with a high iodine content on the shelves of specialized stores.

Determining iodine deficiency

How can you determine the lack of iodine? To do this, you need to perform a couple of simple movements. You just need to take a good look at your seedlings and everything will immediately become clear.

Experienced gardeners initially with all the necessary elements.

  1. The lack of a substance manifests itself during the onset of the disease.
  2. First of all, the lack of an element affects fruiting. This applies to adult bushes that do not go into the fruiting stage. If you do not respond to the problem in time and do not enrich the soil with iodine solution, then you may not wait for the harvest, or it will be very late in a small amount.
  3. A significant decrease in immunity in plants is also highlighted. This is a very dangerous situation for young tomato seedlings, which leads to the appearance of many diseases and even the death of seedlings.
  4. The amount of the substance may be less than normal main reason regular diseases of seedlings.

If you notice late blight, root rot, mosaic or brown spotting is the first sign of iodine deficiency. If the problem is not corrected, then even after successful treatment, the disease may return. This often leads to the death of seedlings.

Feeding methods

There are only two ways in which iodine can be applied to or in a greenhouse: root and foliar. Most effective method impossible to determine. For maximum results, experienced gardeners recommend using both methods, alternating them. You need to firmly know how to use iodine and how often it needs to be done.

Root top dressing

To feed a tomato with iodine, you need to choose the right time. This point is considered very important. Unfortunately, many gardeners are not aware of when exactly to do this procedure and how much substance is needed to carry it out.

As practice shows us, years of experience summer residents, the first application of iodine top dressing should be carried out after the appearance of a full-fledged pair of green leaves on seedlings. Cotyledons are not taken into account.

To properly prepare top dressing for watering a tomato, we need to do the following:

  1. Slightly heat 3 liters of water.
  2. Now you need to dilute 1 drop of iodine in this volume of liquid. We strictly observe the dosage and do not increase it.

Our solution is ready. This concentration for tomatoes is enough in full. Now we can start watering the tomato. We need to water each bush under the root, abundantly and carefully, at the moment the earthen coma dries up.

Thus, tomato seedlings will receive not only useful element but also water.

Reviews experienced gardeners indicate that even 1 such top dressing of tomato seedlings can significantly strengthen it and improve protection against the onset of diseases. And if you apply such fertilizer during fruiting, then the size and number of fruits increases by 10%.

The second top dressing can be carried out in the process of brush ovary. Be extremely careful. In the second case, we need a different cooking method.

  1. For 10 liters of water, 3 drops of iodine should be diluted.
  2. Water should be clean (preferably spring water) and slightly heated.

It is strictly forbidden to water plants with cold water, and even more so seedlings!

Now comes another important point. We need to accurately calculate the amount of solution for each bush. Experienced summer residents recommend sticking to optimal amount- 1 liter per 1 bush. If the tomato bushes are small, then the dosage can be slightly reduced (up to 700 ml).

The third feeding should take place during the fruiting period. As you may have guessed, we need a powerful solution. We can prepare it in the following way.

  1. For 5 liters of boiling water, we need 3 liters of ash powder.
  2. Cover tightly and leave for 60 minutes.
  3. After some time, add warm water to the total volume. So that it turns out 10 liters.
  4. Now pour a small bottle of iodine here and add about 10 grams of boric acid.
  5. Mix well until the elements are completely dissolved.

Now you need to leave the solution for 24 hours so that it is well infused. To make it is necessary to stir 1 liter of the resulting solution in 10 liters of warm water. Mix all this thoroughly and water the tomato seedlings with such a solution with the addition of iodine.

foliar top dressing

As we said before, foliar top dressing tomato can occur with iodine. To do this, follow a few steps:

  1. Mix 1 liter of warm water with 200 ml of low-fat milk.
  2. Next, you need to add 5 drops of iodine tincture in alcohol.

This composition is great for spraying tomato seedlings in the early morning and after sunset. Try to spray so that the drops are scattered. Seedlings do not need an abundant supply of top dressing. In this way, you can harm plants more than help.

Tomato seedlings and adult tomato bushes need to be fed various fertilizers. You can cook them yourself at home. To do this, you do not need to spend a lot of money on the purchase of expensive fertilizers. It is enough to prepare an iodine or milk solution. Some summer residents prepare a solution not only with milk, but also with whey.

The main thing is that each top dressing is timely and correct, as far as possible. These two points directly affect the immunity of seedlings and the ability to prevent the occurrence of diseases. It is very important not to overdo it and know the measure in everything. After all, too much iodine for tomatoes can lead to external changes in brushes and fruits.

Iodine is an element that is vital for all living beings on earth. It can be used not only for medical purposes, but also for processing various vegetable and ornamental crops: strawberries, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, house flowers. What effect does this element have on plants and how to prepare an iodine solution for fertilizer correctly?

Like any other trace element, iodine takes direct participation in biological processes. In sufficient quantities, it is found in chernozem, chestnut, floodplain soils. But solonchaks, podzolic, gray soils, as a rule, experience its deficiency.

Microscopic doses of iodine are needed for normal plant growth and development. Therefore, separately such a fertilizer for Agriculture not issued. However, it is contained in phosphate rock (from 150 to 280 thousand mg per kg). There is also a lot of it in manure, ashes.
You can prepare a solution of iodine yourself. It is used for the following purposes:

  • to stimulate seed growth;
  • against fungal diseases of cultivated plants;
  • to increase the immunity of seedlings;
  • to increase productivity.

It is worth noting that fertilizing seedlings with iodine solution has a beneficial effect on human health. Fruits grown with iodine supplements contain a sufficient amount of trace elements, which is also important.

Processing methods

You can fertilize with iodine not only the roots of the plant, but also its seeds and leaves. Depending on the culture being processed, the purpose of iodine, the recipe may vary slightly.

  • Seed treatment is carried out immediately before sowing. First, they are soaked for 6 hours with preparations containing iodine (0.1% solution of sodium iodide or potassium iodide). To prepare such a solution at home, you need to dissolve 1 drop of iodine in one liter of water.
  • Root processing is carried out through watering the plant. To prepare the solution, you need only 1 drop per 3 liters of water. The resulting composition can be watered all seedlings. Sometimes it is enough to perform the procedure once so that the plants receive right amount element.
  • Foliar treatment, or simply spraying plants with an iodine solution, is done during the growing season. This method helps to destroy spores of downy mildew, copes well with late blight.

Preparation of iodine top dressing for different crops

When growing seedlings of cucumbers, tomatoes and iodine is especially relevant. Also, quite often, gardeners use it to fertilize strawberries, strawberries, and home flowers. Let's consider each case separately:

  • Feeding cucumbers.

This culture has a very common disease. powdery mildew. To get rid of it, cucumber seedlings and the soil around are sprayed with a special solution. To prepare it, you need to mix 3 liters of water, 350 ml of milk, 4 drops of iodine. After transplanting to a new place, the processing of cucumbers is carried out by spraying the seedlings with a mixture of 10 liters of water, 1 liter of milk and 10 drops of 5% water alcohol tincture. The procedure is repeated every 10 days. This treatment prevents yellowing of the leaves and "rejuvenates" the weaving part of the cucumbers. It is good as a preventive measure against fungal spores.

  • Fertilizer for tomatoes and peppers.

Tomatoes and peppers are processed from seed. They are filled with 0.1% iodine solution for 6 hours. Thanks to such care, the seeds germinate faster, the seedlings are strong and healthy. At the next stage, when the tomato and pepper release two true leaves, seedlings are root fed (1 drop of 5% iodine tincture per three liters of water). Tomato fertilizer is also carried out after planting seedlings in the ground, as soon as the brush begins to tie. To do this, 3 drops of iodine are added to a bucket of water and about 1 liter of solution is poured onto the roots of each plant. As practice shows, after this, the pepper grows 15-20% more than usual (meaning the fruit). In addition, the plant is better resistant to diseases, the ripening time of tomatoes and sweet peppers is significantly reduced.

To treat a tomato from late blight, use the following recipe: pour 1 liter of whey, 40 drops of iodine tincture and a spoonful of hydrogen peroxide into a bucket of water. The resulting solution is abundantly sprayed with seedlings.

There is another recipe, it makes tomato seedlings more resistant to late blight. It is necessary to boil 8 liters of water, add 2 liters of sifted ash powder and mix thoroughly. When the substance has cooled, a vial of iodine is poured into it and 10 g of boric acid are poured. Then the mixture is infused for 12 hours. You need to water the tomato under the root, after diluting the infusion at the rate of 1 liter per bucket of water. The composition of such a solution is rich in trace elements, so it can be used as the main top dressing for tomatoes.

When feeding plants, follow the recipe exactly, otherwise too high a iodine content can disrupt the formation of brushes, the fruits will grow crooked.

  • Processing home flowers.

For indoor plants prepare your own solution: add 1-2 drops of 5% iodine tincture to 2 liters of water. You need to water the soil, not the roots, otherwise iodine can simply burn them. This support will provide fast growth plants, frequent flowering, good immunity. Also, a solution of iodine can be used to combat powdery mildew on gloxinia and violet. To do this, add 30 drops of alcohol tincture per liter boiled water, spray the plant, and then put it in a dark place to dry.

  • Strawberry nutrition.

Watering medicinal composition plantations of strawberries and strawberries are usually carried out in early spring. To prepare the solution, use 10 drops of a water-alcohol solution of iodine, diluted in 10 liters of water. Plants should be watered 3 times every 10 days, while the container should be plastic, not metal. This helps to avoid the development of gray rot, strengthens the immunity of plants.

Iodine deficiency adversely affects the health of humans, animals and plants. That is why the UK, USA, Germany, as well as a number of other developed countries on state level achieve an actual increase in its consumption by the population. The ability of the element to accumulate in soil and plants makes it possible to increase its content in vegetables and fruits.

The second undoubted advantage of iodine fertilizer is an increase in the yield of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and other crops. As the experience of many gardeners shows, such top dressing is really effective, you just need to correctly calculate required amount iodine and water the plants in a timely manner.

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