Description of the late-ripening tomato Altai Pink and recommendations for growing the hybrid

The Altai Pink tomato was developed by Russian breeders in 2007 and is quite cold-hardy. This makes it suitable for growing in almost any region. This variety comes in three colors: red, yellow, and pink.

What is the Altai Pink tomato?

Characteristics and description of the variety:

1. The Altai Pink variety is a late-ripening hybrid with high sugar and dry matter content. The fruits are rich in amino acids, beta-carotene, and lycopene, which help improve health and boost local immunity.
2. These tomatoes are most often chosen by allergy sufferers and are also used for dietary and baby food.
3. The bush is indeterminate (reaches 1.5-2 m in height).
4. The leaves are few in number, dark green in color and large in size.
5. The period from planting in the ground to the beginning of ripening is 110-120 days.
6. The yield is 10 kg/m².
7. Suitable for greenhouses and open ground.
8. The brushes contain from 4 to 6 tomatoes.
9. With proper care, the bush bears fruit from mid-summer until the first frost.
10. The fruit has the shape of a flattened sphere with ribbing at the base.
11. An unripe fruit has a dark green spot near the stalk.
12. The skin of tomatoes is thin but dense.
13. The average weight of a ripe tomato is 250-300 g, and with proper agricultural practices it can reach 500 g.
14. The vegetable has a fleshy, juicy consistency.

This variety has few negative qualities, but if you want to grow a productive bush, they're worth keeping in mind. The most important drawback is the tomato's strong dependence on fertilizer, soil type, timely pinching, and staking. Also, if you're planting this variety in your garden, it's worth knowing that it's not suitable for canning.

List of advantages:

• resistant to the main diseases of nightshades;
• tolerates drought and cold climate well;
• easy to care for;
• has a high yield;
• rich, pleasant tomato flavor;
• tomatoes retain their shape well, which increases their transportability;
• bears fruit for a long time.

How to grow tomatoes?

Experts and amateurs alike give positive reviews. When following planting and care recommendations, the results meet expectations. For rapid seed germination, nutritious and moist soil and a temperature of 25°C are required. Germination will increase in a warm, bright location. When 2-3 leaves appear, you can begin transplanting. To prevent the seedlings from becoming leggy, place them in a bright location.

Before planting outdoors, seedlings should be disinfected by washing them in a potassium permanganate solution. To promote additional growth, they can be treated with special germination stimulants.

The planting beds should be loosened. The soil should be garden soil with some peat or fertilizer added. You can also add sand or ash to each individual hole. A sunny location protected from drafts is best for this variety. Tomatoes should be planted outdoors when the air temperature remains stable at 15°C.

Don't use a plot of land where eggplants or peppers were grown. A bed previously used for carrots or cabbage is better. If suitable soil is unavailable, replace the topsoil, thoroughly mixing it with compost and peat. Don't plant the seedlings too close together—three seedlings per square meter is sufficient.

It's best to immediately install a support 2 to 2.5 meters high near each hole, to which the tomato stem will be tied later. Proper planting is crucial. By removing side shoots above the third cluster, you should end up with 1-2 stems. Excessively elongated plants should have their growing points pinched.

It's important to remember that cold water is harmful to this tomato. It inhibits root development. Use only warm water that has been left to stand for at least 24 hours. Both under- and over-watering are equally harmful to this variety. Excess moisture will cause root rot and the plant to die. Too little moisture will result in poor growth. Water when the top layer of soil begins to dry out, directly beneath the plant, avoiding contact with the stems and leaves.

Experts recommend loosening the soil after each watering. Otherwise, a soil crust will form and restrict oxygen to the tomato roots. When loosening the soil, remember to remove weeds, as they are the main carriers of diseases that can be fatal to the plant. The lower leaves interfere with air exchange and light penetration to the fruits.

This tomato variety requires fertilizing approximately every 20 days. But don't overdo it: overdoing it can cause the plant to become diseased.

Pink Altai tomatoes should be protected from insect attacks during the flowering period. During this time, mole crickets, Colorado potato beetles, spider mites, and aphids can be found on the bushes.
Detecting aphids is easy—a visual inspection is sufficient. Preventing their appearance can be achieved by spraying with a weak solution of potassium permanganate or an aqueous ammonia solution. Stems infested with aphids should be soaked with soapy water.

A rapidly spreading fungal disease called late blight causes significant damage to tomatoes. It attacks the entire upper part of the plant—leaves, stems, and fruit. Root rot, which occurs with overwatering, is equally dangerous. When this occurs, the tomato plants dry out and die within days.

Proper crop rotation, proper planting and watering practices, and timely fertilizing and weeding will help avoid such problems. With proper care, growing the Altai Pink tomato will reward you with a good yield, large fruits, and a delicious flavor all season long.