Tomato Soyuz 8: characteristics and description of the variety, how to grow with a photo

Early ripe hybrid Soyuz 8 F1 is perfect for growing in a greenhouse, where you can plant seedlings in early spring and get a harvest at a time when seedlings of ordinary tomatoes are just starting to be planted in open ground. Tomato Union 8 is popular not only with those who grow tomatoes for consumption, but also with farmers who cultivate tomatoes for sale in the market.

Description and main characteristics

Tomato variety Soyuz 8 - a perfect combination of taste and almost simultaneous ripening of the crop, even in bad weather. Ripe tomatoes perfectly tolerate transportation even over long distances.

This tomato belongs to early ripe varieties - from the appearance of the first seedlings to the collection of ripe fruits, it takes about 3 months. The yield ofUnion 8 is high. This hybrid is determinant - the growth of the bush is limited to a brush growing at the top with inflorescences. Further development of the tomato occurs due to the appearance of stepson leaves in the axils.

The main difference between these varieties - the distance between the brushes with ovaries is usually 1 - 2 permanent leaves. After the first 5 leaves, racemes with inflorescences appear and then alternate through the leaf on each shoot. Usually, no more than 6 brushes with inflorescences grow on one shoot of a determinant hybrid. Soyuz tomato can be grown both in garden beds and in greenhouses or simply under film cover.

Bushes of medium height (no more than a meter), very strong, have a large number of lateral stems. The amount of foliage on the shoots is average. The number of ovaries in one brush can vary from 5 to 9 pieces.

Ripe fruits are rounded, slightly flattened at the bottom, fleshy. The peel is quite dense, bright red in color. The mass of ripe tomatoes can reach 105 - 110 g. The ripe fruits of Union Eight can be consumed both fresh and used for conservation. Tomatoes of this hybrid contain up to 4.9% dry matter. Each ripe fruit has up to 5 seed chambers. Ripe tomatoes of this hybrid are very tasty, sweet enough, but with sourness inherent in tomatoes. Up to 10 - 11 kg can be harvested from one bush in open ground, and in greenhouse conditions, the yield of the hybrid increases to 14 - 18 kg from m²

When growing, growing bushes should be tied to trellises, as a large number of ripening fruits can cause stem breakage. It is necessary to form a bush, removing excess stepchildren in order to allow the fruits that appear to ripen. The composition of ripe tomatoes includes s alts of various elements: iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, cob alt.

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

The indisputable advantages of Union 8 include the following pluses:

• great taste;
• ripe tomatoes tolerate long-distance transportation well;
• fruits are not prone to cracking;
• harmonious ripening of tomatoes, despite the weather conditions;
• bushes are quite compact, so they are well suited for planting in protected ground;
• high resistance to tobacco mosaic.

The variety also has quite serious drawbacks:

• weak resistance to late blight, blossom end rot, macrosporiosis;
• need for pinching bushes;
• in too hot weather (when the air temperature is above 29 - 31 ° C), the fruits do not set;
• seeds of ripe tomatoes are not suitable for further planting.

The nuances of growing a hybrid

The characteristics and description of the Soyuz 8 tomato variety say that seeds are planted for seedlings at home in the last decade of March. If the seedlings are intended for growing in greenhouse conditions, the seed material can be planted at home in early March.

Depth of seed placement - no more than 2.5 cm. Dive growing seedlings should be when 2 - 3 permanent leaves appear on them. 1.5 weeks before planting in open ground, grown seedlings should be taken out into fresh air to harden. Usually, when growing seedlings, it is fed 2-3 times with complex fertilizers containing nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. For more active growth of the root system, seedlings can be fertilized with Kornevin or another similar preparation.

About two months after the first shoots appear, the seedlings are ready for transplanting into open beds.The distance between bushes in a row is 0.4 m, between rows - 0.7 m. Usually, no more than 4-5 plants are planted per 1 m^{2. Due to the low resistance of this hybrid to the main fungal diseases of tomatoes, planting seedlings in loose soil (without stagnant moisture in it) is recommended.}

Further care comes down to the following procedures:

• regular watering;
• regular top dressing during the period of growing vegetative mass, flowering and crop maturation;
• loosening the soil while removing weeds;
• timely tying shoots to trellis or other type of support.

When applying top dressing, it should be remembered that nitrogen fertilizers are necessary for a tomato only at the stage of growth of the vegetative mass. With the appearance of the first ovaries, nitrogen is not added to the top dressing, otherwise the foliage and stems will “fatten”, and the number of ovaries will decrease.

During the appearance of inflorescences and ripening of fruits, only mineral fertilizers with potassium and phosphorus are applied to the soil.

Reviews of vegetable growers growing the Soyuz 8 variety can be reduced to the following points:

• hybrid can be attributed to one of the best early ripe tomatoes;
• friendly fruit ripening allows harvesting up to 65% of the total crop in the first days of tomato harvesting;
• higher yields give Union 8 bushes formed into one shoot;
• due to the early ripening of the crop, it is practically not affected by late blight.

This early maturing variety is great for small farms. With early planting in the greenhouse, you can harvest as early as mid-late June.

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