The best heat-resistant tomato varieties for southern Russia

To grow a good tomato harvest in the south, you need to choose varieties that are suitable for your climate zone. Local gardeners should ensure the crop's heat tolerance, as the sun here is so intense that the harvest will simply "burn." We've prepared a catalog of ideal varieties especially for you, complete with names, descriptions, characteristics, key features, and photos.

Features of the region's climate

Most southern regions have a temperate continental climate. Winters are mild, springs are warm and rainy, summers are hot and dry, and autumn is late and relatively warm. Seasons transition smoothly, with a long frost-free period in the south. In the Krasnodar Krai, winter arrives in December, so the last tomatoes are harvested in the open ground in October, and in greenhouses, just before the New Year.

Southern gardeners begin the planting season in February and harvest their outdoor tomatoes after May 20th. Warm summer weather creates ideal conditions for growing tomatoes, but heat and drought require special cultivation techniques and the planting of heat-tolerant varieties and hybrids resistant to fungal diseases and blossom-end rot.

For open ground

In hot weather, tomatoes undergo physiological adaptation to overheating by curling their leaves. This is how the plants protect themselves from moisture loss. At very high temperatures, they compensate for the loss by producing fruit and leaves. Tomato varieties for southern Russia are resistant to heat stress and solar radiation, and have good immunity.

In hot climates, determinate tomatoes are easier to grow; their flavor and yield are less affected by heat. When choosing seeds, consider the ripening time and intended use. Early varieties ripen in 80 days and have a short fruiting period of 1.5-2 months.

Generosity

Early maturing. The "Shchedrost" tomato is grown outdoors for fresh consumption and all types of processing. The yield is good for low bushes (30-50 cm) – 7 kg/m².

Gardeners highly appreciate the following characteristics: shelf life, transportability, resistance to verticillium wilt and macrosporiosis.

Spring round dance

A tomato for open ground with bright red, small tomatoes. The bushes are not tall (80-90 cm) and require minimal care. Side shoots are not removed. Spring Khorovod is one of the first to ripen in open ground.

Reviews of seed germination are excellent. The description and photo on the package are accurate. Gardeners note the uniform and early ripening of the fruits. The harvest ripens before the onset of hot weather, so the plants are disease-free. The ripening period is 80 days.

To obtain an early harvest, grow seedlings. Seedlings are planted in the ground at 40-50 days old, using a 30 x 40 cm spacing pattern. Determinate bushes reach 80 cm in height and require staking. Spring Khorovod appreciates fertilizing. The yield of the Spring Khorovod tomato is 4.5 kg/m².

Verlioka Plus F1

This is a successful project by domestic breeders, a new-generation hybrid with an early ripening period. The plant is determinate, with bushes reaching 1.5 meters in height, compact, and quick to develop.

Read also

The best low-growing tomato varieties for open ground
It's recommended to grow low-growing tomato varieties outdoors. The plants grow compactly, eliminating the need to worry about tying them to anything. Of course, growing tomatoes outdoors…

 

The Verlioka Plus tomato yields 10 kg/m². The fruits ripen evenly. They are beautiful, so there are no problems selling them on the market. The hybrid tolerates drought well and quickly adapts to temperature fluctuations.

Irishka F1

The hybrid was developed for the North Caucasus region and was added to the State Register in 2005. The crop ripens early, with a period of 80-110 days from germination to fruiting.

Determinate bushes grow 40-60 cm tall and require support during fruiting due to the abundance of fruit. The variety is resistant to tobacco mosaic virus.

Yields vary depending on cultivation practices and range from 8-14 kg/m². Advantages of the Irishka F1 hybrid include shelf life, transportability, and resistance to bruising and cracking during transportation. Fruits are resistant to late blight and tobacco mosaic virus.

Anyuta F1

It’s worth starting the description with the important characteristics: yield – 6 kg/m², ripening period 80 days, intended use:

• summer salads;
• winter salads and appetizers;
• canned goods.

The advantages of the Anyuta F1 include strong immunity to the tobacco mosaic virus and late blight. Anyuta is grown for canning because its fruits have a tough skin, look great in jars, and don't lose their shape or crack during cooking.

The bush is determinate, 60-70 cm high. 3-4 fruits are formed in a cluster.

Pink Andromeda

A heat-resistant variety for the North Caucasus region used for salads. Included in the State Register since 2008. Gardeners grow Pink Andromeda tomatoes outdoors. The determinate bushes, 60-80 cm tall, tolerate dry periods well.

The yield is stable – 5-7 kg/m². In hot weather, when nutrients are lacking, the plants drop their flowers. This is an early-ripening variety, with the harvest reaching maturity in 80-100 days.

Gold of Kuban

A successful effort by Crimean breeders. The fruit's flavor is unaffected by intense sunlight. Kuban Gold is mid-season (110-130 days) and is virtually disease-free. The bushes are determinate and grow up to 40 cm.

The tomato Gold of Kuban is grown for whole-fruit canning and fresh consumption; the yield is low but stable – 5 kg/m².

Krasnodar

A time-tested variety for gardeners and farmers. In the south, it is grown without seedlings. The bushes are determinate, low-growing, and standard – 50 cm.

A mid-season variety for pickling. The fruits are used for canning and making juice. Yield: 3.8 kg/m².

For greenhouses

The selection of greenhouse tomatoes in the South is a matter of great care. Even with daytime ventilation, the air temperature in glass and polycarbonate greenhouses rises significantly, affecting fruit set and causing burns to the fruit, leaves, and root collars. Gavrish breeders have developed heat- and stress-resistant tomato varieties for the southern regions.

Virtuoso F1

Mid-early (105-110 days), semi-determinate bush type, 1.5-1.8 m tall. Productivity is high, with 6.5-7 kg of fruit per bush. Virtuoz F1 tomato is grown from seedlings. Seedlings are transplanted to a greenhouse at 40 days old using a 40 x 60 cm pattern and trained into a single stem.

In southern regions, it is valued for its good adaptation to sudden weather changes and its strong immunity to fusarium, cladosporiosis, and tobacco mosaic disease. Virtuoz tomato is eaten fresh and used as a raw material for homemade preserves.

Kostroma F1

A mid-season, all-purpose hybrid, the fruits ripen 100-110 days after germination. The bushes are tall (2 m), productive (5 kg), semi-determinate, and virtually disease-free, bearing fruit until the first frost.

Kostroma F1 yields 20 kg/m². Uses: cooking, tomato paste and ketchup production, canning.

Margarita F1

An excellent early-ripening hybrid for greenhouses. Tomatoes ripen in 100-105 days without cracking, with 6-8 tomatoes per cluster, and the first inflorescence appearing above the 9th-12th leaf. Margarita is a semi-determinate hybrid. Plant height is 1.5-1.8 m.

The Margarita tomato is resistant to tobacco mosaic virus, fusarium wilt, and cladosporiosis. Seedlings are planted in a greenhouse at a spacing of 50 x 40 cm, yielding 4.0-4.5 kg of fruit per bush.

Mountain Spring

An excellent large-fruited hybrid from Syngenta. It takes two months (60 days) from germination to harvesting the first fruits. The plant is heat-resistant., resistant to fusarium and verticillium wilt.

This hybrid is prized for its beautiful, uniform fruits, which are resistant to cracking and easy to transport. It is used as a salad variety. Yields range from 2.6 to 7.7 kg/m². It was included in the state register in 2007.

Calisti F1

A disease-resistant, mid-season salad hybrid for the North Caucasus region. The plant is vigorous, well-foliated, and grows 60-80 cm tall. The fruits are used fresh and for making juice and tomato paste.

The yield of the Calisti hybrid is 2.8-4 kg/m²; gardeners and farmers value it for its shelf life, transportability, and stable immunity to fusarium and verticillium wilt.

Useful tips for gardeners

Tomatoes don't require high humidity during fruiting, so the greenhouse needs to be ventilated in any weather, even cloudy ones. Optimal conditions for tomatoes:

• soil moisture 70-80%;
• air humidity 60%.

If soil moisture fluctuates frequently, root growth is stunted, the plant receives insufficient nutrients, and this weakens its immune system. Tomatoes become susceptible to infection. Sudden changes in soil moisture cause buds and ovaries to fall off, and the fruits to crack.

Avoiding the problems listed above is not difficult; it is enough to organize the watering of tomatoes correctly:

• To prevent the seedlings from stretching out, do not water them for 7 days after transplanting to a permanent location;
• a week after transplanting, begin to water abundantly and frequently;
• When the first ovaries appear, tomatoes are watered 2-3 times a week.

Water is applied to the roots, and watered early in the morning before the heat sets in. The greenhouse is ventilated to prevent condensation on the ceiling and walls. Tomato pathogens can be carried in droplets of moisture. If they fall on tomato leaves, they can trigger a fungal outbreak.

You can grow a good tomato crop without mineral fertilizers if your soil is fertile. However, if your soil is depleted, they'll be essential. Fertilizing begins 10 days after transplanting. Signs of fertilization include pale leaves and thin stems. Fertilizing recipe:

• water 5 buckets;
• slurry 1 bucket;
• superphosphate 20 g;
• ash 30 g.

The recommended rate for each tomato plant is 0.5 liters. Subsequent feedings are performed every two weeks, alternating organic and mineral fertilizers. Recipe for fruiting tomatoes:

• pour 2 liters of ash into a bucket;
• pour boiling water over;
• insist;
• strain;
• bring the volume to 10 l;
• pour in 1 bottle of iodine;
• Dissolve 15 g of boric acid in warm water, pour into a bucket, and mix everything.

Before watering, dilute the resulting concentrate with water in a ratio of 1:10. Pour 1 liter of fertilizer under each tomato bush.

Read also

What tomato varieties are the most productive for growing in a greenhouse?
Every year, organizations involved in the breeding and selection of vegetable crops offer the latest developments in tomato hybrids. Moreover, there are already varieties of tomatoes that have become popular with many...