Tomatoes Cracking and Splitting Leaves Falling Off

Problem 1. For the last five years I've been dealing with an issue of our larger tomatoes cracking and splitting, as soon as they start to get ripe. I though it might be a fertilizer issue, so I really paid close attention to the soil conditions. That didn't work. I thought it might be a water issue, so I started a hydroponics system. It made gobs of beautiful tomatoes... that all split. I'd like to figure out what's going on. I am thinking it must be the heat. We live in south Louisiana and that's the only thing I can think of that might be causing them to split.

Problem 2. All the leaves turn yellow and fall off the lower sections of the plants. Is this normal? I asked an old guy about the splitting issue, above, and he said the leaves should shade the fruit, so they don't split, but the lower leaves always fall off, no mater the system. I have even heard people recommend cutting the leaves off, anywhere below the setting fruit.

Any recommendations?

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Tomatoes Cracking and Splitting Leaves Falling Off