I attached a PDF that is a Pub doc on this subject that might be of some help to you.
Also wanted to say that in your climate heat is one issue but another issue is the humidity. High humidity causes the pollen to clump up as well which also affects fruit set. The Uncle Mark Bagby was grown for a long time in my state of KY though from my understanding it was bought here. Either case what that tells me is that the tomato has better genetics for setting flowers in hot humid conditions. It gets hot and very humid here in KY during the summers. But not as bad as it does in Thailand. So my suggestion would be to look for a tomato that is even better known for setting fruit in a hot and humid climate. Probably the best known slicing type heirloom tomato in that class is called The Creole tomato. It is grown in southern Louisiana. I think that would probably be your best bet in your climate conditions.
Other than heat and humidity issues you will also want to make sure that the variety can hold up to some of the other various issues like fungal diseases in your area and any other tomato diseases that are common in South East Asia such as Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus, etc
In your area there is a wet and dry season. There will be tricks you will have to learn to best deal with those conditions. for example in the wetter months you might consider raised beds or containers so that the soil is able to drain better. Or in Northern Thailand hill side growing. so you have good drainage. In the dryer hotter months you might need shade covers. I know in Las Vegas one trick they use in the hottest months is they line the ground with either mylar or a white plastic film so that it keeps the soil and roots of the tomato just a little bit cooler. This can also help the rest of the tomato deal with the heat a bit. Kinda like a person dangling their feet in a cool stream in the summer to cool off.
Anyways I guess the point is that there will be some challenges but hopefully I was able to get you thinking of some different solutions that might help you out.
|