High Tunnel and Field Production of Organic Heirloom Tomatoes: Yield, Fruit Quality, Disease, and Microclimate

Abstract

Additional index words. Solanum lycopersicum, greenhouse, season extension, plasticulture, hoop house, local markets, IPM Abstract. Organic and heirloom tomatoes are high-value products with growing demand but there are many challenges to successful cultivation. A systems comparison study was carried out to evaluate the production of the popular heirloom tomato 'Cherokee Purple' (Solanum lycopersicum L.) under high tunnel and open field systems in North Carolina from 2007 to 2008. Management of the high tunnel (i.e., temperature and irrigation), weather events as well as pest and disease pressure influenced crop quality and yield. The high tunnel and field systems achieved similar total yields (100 t · ha L1 ) the first season but yields were 33% greater in the high tunnel system than the field system in the second year (100 t · ha L1 and 67 t · ha L1 , respectively). Both years, the tomatoes were planted in high tunnels 1 month earlier and harvested 3 weeks earlier than the field. The accumulation of ' '1100 growing degree-days (GDD) was required in both systems before 50% of the fruit was harvested. Fruit cracking, cat-facing, blossom-end rot, and insect damage were the major categories of defects in both systems. Incidence of both Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV) and Gray Leaf Spot (GLS) were lower in the high tunnel compared with the field in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Results of this study suggest that with proper management techniques, high tunnels can optimize yields, increase fruit quality, and provide season extension opportunities for high-value horticultural crops.

Nitrogen Isotope Composition, Nitrogen Amount, and Fruit Yield of Tomato Plants Affected by the Soil–Fertilizer Types

“…Organic production by use of manures (e.g., vermicompost) can be difficult to manage due to variability in nutrient concentrations and mineralization release. 20,21 Organic fertilizers applied to the soil take time to breakdown and N sources are more difficult for plant uptake due to enrichments of δ 15 N air remaining in the soil, which related to a slight decrease in fruit. 22,23 In comparison, conventionally fertilized soils with ammonium and nitrate tend to have a more consistent supply of nitrogen throughout the production.…”

High tunnels: protection for rather than from insect pests?

“…This is consistent with recent reports comparing high tunnel and field production of tomatoes requiring pesticide interventions for caterpillar control in high tunnel tomato production. 22,23 For broccoli the effect was less consistent across years, but population patterns pointed in the same direction. Caterpillar populations were three-to fourfold higher in high tunnels in 2010, yet in 2011 insecticide intervention was equivalent between the two systems (one application in each).…”

Potential risk levels of invasive Neoleucinodes elegantalis (small tomato borer) in areas optimal for open‐field Solanum lycopersicum (tomato) cultivation in the present and under predicted climate change

“…). These datasets were obtained from published literature and from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility …”