Tomato

Origin

In the family Solanaceae, the tomato, Lycopersicon esculentum Mill., originated in Peru but was domesticated in Mexico. Introduced to Europe in 1544, it was only slowly accepted in Europe because, as a relative of nightshade, belladonna, and mandrake, it was thought to be poisonous and cause cancer.

BOTANY

PRODUCTION PRACTICES

HARVEST AND POST-HARVEST

Integrated Pest Management

Life cycles and monitoring and control practices for some of the common insect pests in the southern U.S. are described in Integrated Pest Management. In the humid climate of the south, foliar diseases are very hard to control on tomatoes without fungicides. This is a particular problem in areas with cool nights during the summer, such as the mountains of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. Dew formed overnight wets the leaves well into the morning, promoting foliar diseases such as early blight and late blight. Some of the important diseases of vegetables in the South and their control are described in Disease Management. The general principles of insect and disease IPM programs are also described in their respective chapters. Cultivar resistances to the more common insects and diseases in the south are listed below so growers can select cultivars with multiple resistances. The list is not meant to be inclusive, however, as new resistant cultivars are constantly being released.

Weeds

Black nightshade, which is in the same family as tomato, and perennial weeds in general are hard to control. Mechanical control of nightshade is the only effective control once the tomato crop is in the field. Rotation and other long-term IPM practi ces are discussed in Weed Management.

Experiments in New York tested different five weed control strategies in tomato:

1. cultivation until July 1;
2. cultivation until August 1;
3. cultivation until September 1;
4. treated with herbicides to keep weed-free;
5. given no weed control treatment.

The highest yields were found in plots kept weed-free by cultivation until August 1. Plots kept weed-free with herbicides yielded 38 percent less than those cultivated only until August 1.

References

• Gardner, R. 1993. Personal communication.
• U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. 1992 Census of Agriculture. Table 29. Vegetables, Sweet corn and melons harvested for sale: 1992 and 1987. p. 396-421.
• USDA. Agricultural statistics (1947-1993), US GAO, and, Vegetables & Specialties: Situation & Outlook report (1987-1994). USDA Economic Research Service, quarterly.
• Poleman, C.M., and N. . Peckenpaugh. 1991. Nutrition essentials and diet therapy. W.B. Saunders. Co.
• Parnes, R. 1990. Fertile soil, a grower's guide to organic and inorganic fertilizers. AgAccess, Davis, CA.
• Rutgers Univ. 1984. Commercial vegetable production recommendations. Bulletin E001. Rutgers Univ., Cook College, New Brunswick, NJ.
• Vavring, C. 1991. Does tomato transplant age make a difference? The Vegetarian 91-04, p. 6.
• Adones, P. 1990. Effects of watering in the yield, quality and composition of tomatoes grown in bags of peat. J. Hort. Science 65: 667-674.
• Estes, E.A., W.A. Skroch, T.R. Konsler, P.B. Shoemaker, and K.A. Sorensen. 1985. Net economic values of eight soil management practices used in stake tomato production. J. Amer. Soc. Hort. Sci. 110(6):812-816.
• Steffen, K., et al. A systems approach to calculating vegetable production strategies. Penn State Univ., 1990. unpublished manuscript.
• Peet, M.M., and Willits, D. 1995. Role of excess water in tomato fruit cracking. HortScience 30: 65-68.
• Seed catalogs such as Johnny's, Petoseed and Asgrow, NC Extension publications, including the 1991 Suggested Vegetable Varieties for the North Carolina Commercial Grower.
• Rude, P.A. 1985. IPM for Tomatoes. Univ. of CA Publication 3274.
• Riggs, D.I.M., R.R. Bellinder and R.W. Wallace. 1991. The effect of one, two, and three month weed-free periods on yield on late season tomatoes. HortScience 26:152.

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Last Modified: Thursday, October 4, 2001