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Cracking & Splitting

Cracking & Splitting

Disorderalso: Fruit cracking, Fruit splitting, Growth cracks, Head splitting, Splitting

A physiological disorder in which fruits, heads, or roots crack or split open because the plant takes up water faster than its skin can stretch. It is most familiar in tomatoes that split after a heavy rain, but cabbage heads, carrots, and many fruits do the same thing, and the open cracks then invite rot and insects.

🔎 How to spot it

Look for splits in the skin: rings circling the stem end or cracks running down the side of a tomato, deep splits across a cabbage head, or lengthwise cracks in carrots, radishes, and other roots. The cracks appear suddenly after a swing in moisture, often following rain or heavy watering that breaks a dry spell. The split tissue may stay clean or begin to rot.

🥀 Damage it causes

The damage is mainly to quality: cracked fruit and split heads or roots are unsightly, do not store, and the open wounds let in rot organisms, fruit flies, and other pests that spoil the produce. A sudden flush of water near harvest can split a large share of a tomato or cabbage crop at once. Lightly cracked produce is still edible if used right away.

🔬 What causes it

Cracking is caused by uneven growth driven by uneven water: when a dry plant is suddenly flooded with rain or irrigation, the inside swells faster than the skin can grow, and the skin splits. Wide swings in soil moisture, temperature, and humidity all promote it, and ripe or nearly ripe fruit and mature cabbage heads are the most prone. Some varieties crack much more readily than others.

🛡️ Prevent it

Keep soil moisture as steady as possible: water deeply and regularly rather than letting plants dry out and then soaking them, and mulch to buffer the soil against drying and sudden wetting. Harvest ripe tomatoes and mature cabbages promptly, especially when heavy rain is forecast, and choose crack-resistant tomato varieties. For cabbage prone to splitting, slowing growth at maturity by twisting the plant to break some roots can help.

🧯 If it is already here

There is no way to heal a crack, so use or trim cracked produce quickly before it rots, and pick split fruit and heads rather than leaving them to spoil and attract pests. Going forward, even out the watering and mulch the bed. Because cracking is a response to moisture swings, steady irrigation and timely harvest prevent most of it.

💡 Good to know

The trigger is almost always a sudden change in water, which is why tomatoes so often split right after a downpour ends a dry spell. Even, consistent watering and a good mulch are the best defense, along with picking fruit and heads before a forecast rain. Variety choice matters a great deal for tomatoes.

🌱 Plants it affects

113 plants in the library can be affected by this problem

Amish Paste Tomato🥕Atomic Red CarrotAunt Molly's Ground CherryBeach Plum🍅Beefmaster TomatoBetter Boy Tomato🍅Big Beef TomatoBig Boy TomatoBing CherryBitter MelonBlack Cherry Tomato🍉Black Diamond WatermelonBlack Krim Tomato🥕Black Spanish RadishBlack Tartarian Cherry🥕Bolero Carrot🍅Box Car Willie TomatoBraeburn AppleBrandywine TomatoBull's Blood BeetCasaba MelonCatawba GrapeCelebrity TomatoChantenay CarrotCharleston Gray WatermelonCherokee Purple TomatoCherry Belle RadishChioggia BeetCipollini OnionConcord GrapeCornelian CherryCortland AppleCosmic Crisp AppleCosmic Purple CarrotCrenshaw MelonCrimson Sweet WatermelonCylindra BeetDaikon RadishDamson PlumDanvers CarrotDetroit Dark Red BeetDragon CarrotEarly Girl Tomato🌸Easter Egg RadishEgyptian Walking Onion🥕French Breakfast RadishFuji AppleGala AppleGalia Melon🍅German Queen TomatoGolden BeetGranny Smith AppleGreen CabbageGreen Zebra TomatoHakurei TurnipHoneycrisp AppleHoneydew MelonImperator CarrotIndigo Rose TomatoJanuary King Cabbage🍉Jubilee WatermelonJuliet Grape TomatoKellogg's Breakfast Tomato🍅La Roma IV TomatoLemon Boy TomatoMcIntosh AppleMethley Plum🍉Mini Love Watermelon🥕Mokum CarrotMontmorency Cherry🍉Moon and Stars Watermelon🍅Mortgage Lifter TomatoMr. Stripey TomatoMuscadine GrapeNanking CherryNantes CarrotNapa CabbageNiagara Grape🍉Orangeglo WatermelonOregon Grape🥕Paris Market CarrotPearl OnionPineapple TomatoPink Lady ApplePomegranatePurple Top TurnipRainier CherryRed CabbageRed Delicious Apple🧅Red OnionRoma Tomato🍅Rutgers TomatoSan Marzano TomatoSavoy Cabbage🧅Spanish OnionStanley Plum🍅Striped German TomatoSugar AppleSugar Baby Watermelon🍅Sungold Cherry Tomato

For educational and informational purposes only. Disease management advice is general guidance drawn from university cooperative extension sources; always identify a problem positively and read and follow the label on any product before use, especially around food crops, children, and pets.