Every Thing You Ever Wanted to Know About Tomatoes

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Every Thing You Ever Wanted to Know About Tomatoes

• Kevin Schoessow
• Ag Development Agent
• Burnett, Sawyer, and Washburn Co.

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Because of its food value, many uses, and ease of
culture, the tomato is probably the most widely
grown vegetable by the home gardener.
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Solanaceae
Family includes

• Tomato (Meso american)
• Pepper (Meso american)
• Eggplant (Asian)
• Potato (Andean)
• Tobacco (Meso american)
• Petunia
• Nightsade eastern bitter black

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Tomato Lycopersicon esculentum

• It is an unwholesome meat, engendering in the
  bodie many evill humors.
• Doddoneasus 1554
• Origin is Andes mountain region of South America
• Domesticated in Mexico
• Many related wild species in South America
• Tomato is from the Nahuati language of Mexico.
• Tomati was the name used by Native Americans

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Lycopersicon esculentum

• Was considered poisonous until 1700s
• First introduced in US in 1710
• Thomas Jefferson was one of the first to grow
  tomatoes, which were called Love Apples at the
  time
• Related to nightshade (alkaloids)
• Major alkaloid in tomato is tomatine High in
  foliage but little in ripe fruit

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Are they a Fruit?
or a Vegetable?

• Botanically it is a fruit
• Horticulturally and legally it is a vegetable
• They are the 2nd most important vegetable crop in
  the U.S. (the potato is 1)

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Nutritional Aspect

• Low in calories and protein Ranks 16th in
  vitamins, but 1 in contribution
• Very high in Vitamin C poor mans orange
• Carotenoids nine different
  identified Beta-carotine Lycopene

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Beta-carotine

• Main precursor of Vitamin A
• Range of 2 to 10 mg/g
• Highest amounts in some wild species
• High B-carotine varieties for special
  markets Caro-Red 10x normal

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Lycopene

• Red pigment
• Health aspects
• 90 of lycopene comes from tomatoes
• Most potent antioxidant among carotenoids
• May protect against some forms of cancer
• Absorbed better in processed products

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Fruit Color
Carotenoid level
Low
High
Low
Lycopene level
High
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Plant Growth Habits

• Determinate
• Flower clusters produced with only one or two
  leaves (nodes) between them
• After several clusters shoot will terminate in an
  infloresence (flower cluster)
• Tend to be smaller plants are suited for caging
  or sprawling
• Fruit tends to ripen all at once

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Plant Growth Habits

• Indeterminate
• Three to four leaves are produced between flower
  clusters
• Shoot does not terminate in flower cluster
• Since plants continue to elongate they are larger
  and tend to get viney if not pruned
• Suited for staking and caging
• Fruit ripen throughout the growing season
• ISI Indeterminate Short Internode varieties with
  the controlled growth habit of a determinate
  with the unlimited production potential of an
  indeterminate

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Plant Growth Habits
Determinate
Indeterminate
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Determinate Growth Habits
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Indeterminate Growth Habits
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Determinate?
or
Indeterminate?
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Roots and Leaves

• Deep rooted, penetrates below 4 feet
• Direct seeded develop taproot
• Transplants develop more fibrous root
• Compound leaves are covered with fine hairs that
  emit the characteristic tomato smell when crushed

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Flowers

• Individual flowers borne in clusters of 4-8
  flowers
• Largely self-fertilized and primarily wind
  pollinated

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Fruit

• Depending on variety fruit may be red, yellow,
  orange, green pink, or purple
• Shape may be oblong, round or pear
• Under simple genetic control
• Size ranges from lt 1 oz. to several lbs.
• Under multi-genetic control
• Composition is typically 5 solids (up to 12 for
  paste) and 95 water
• Sugar/acid is prime factor in flavor
• Low light reduces sugars

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Vine Ripe Tomatoes?

• Why is it that winter store bought tomatoes taste
  like cardboard?
• Ripe tomatoes cannot be shipped long distances
• Harvested as breakers
• Fruit can ripen to near red if gassed with
  ethylene, but never develop full flavor

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Breaker

• 5-10 red

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Growing Tomatoes

• Site Selection
• Cultivar Selection
• Recommended Varieties
• Cultural practices
• Planting
• Mulching and weed control
• Staking, caging and pruning
• Fertility
• Diseases and Insects

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Site Selection

• Full Sun
• Open to good air movement
• Loam to Sandy Loam well drained fertile soil
• Soil pH 5.8-7.5

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Cultivar Selection

• Length of growing season
• Disease and Pest considerations
• Type
• Early vs. Late
• Cherry vs. Beefstake
• Paste vs. Slicers
• Hybrid vs. Heirloom
• Determinate vs. Indeterminate

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Early Varieties

• Typically smaller plants and smaller fruits
• 55 to 65 day (Siberia 48 days)
• Early Girl, New Yorker, Wayahead, Flash,
  Daybreak, First Lady, Miracle Sweet, Sunstart
• Artic, 4th of July, Glacier

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Main Crop

• Widest selection
• 70 to 100 day (Big Boy, Big Girl 78 day)
• Better Boy, Big Beef, Beefmaster, Jet Star, Pink
  Girl, Celebrity, Floramerica, Henz 1350, Ultra
  Sweet, Campbell 1327, Husky Gold, Husky Red
• Sun Series, Mountain Series

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Paste or Salsa

• Fewer selections
• Medium size fruit (2-4 oz.)
• 65 to 75 day (Viva Italia 72 day)
• Roma VF, Italian Gold, Sherriff
• Super Marzano, Aztec, Classica
• Shasta and 5913 X 5914 two promising new
  varieties being developed by UW-Madison

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Small Fruit

• Cherry or Grape sized fruits
• 60 to 75 day (Sweet 100 65 day)
• Yellow Pear, Pixie, Small Fry, Tiny Tim, Sweet
  Million, Juliet, Gardeners Delight, Patio

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Colored Fruit

• Yellows, Golds, Oranges, Green Striped
• Golden Boy, Golden Girl, Lemon Boy, Husky Gold,
  Sungold, Yellow Plum, Black Brandywine, Black
  Krim, Green Zebra, White Wonder, White Potato
  Leaf, Pineapple

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Heirlooms

• Family seeds that have been passed down for
  several generations through a family
• Commercial open-pollinated varieties introduced
  before 1940
• Created crossing two known parents and
  dehybridizing the resulting seeds for how ever
  many years/generations it takes to eliminate the
  undesirable characteristics
• Mystery varieties that are a product of natural
  cross-pollination of other heirloom varieties

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Heirloom

• More lobed and undulated fruit
• Open pollinated
• More prone to diseases, fruit cracking
• 75 to 110 day (Brandywine 100day)
• Aunt Ginny, Boondocks, Prudens Purple, Striped
  German, Old German, Amish Paste, Mr. Stripey

www.heirloomtomatoes.bizland.com
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• Plant after last spring frost
• Spooner last frost
• Median May 27
• 90 chance May 5
• 10 chance June 14
• Plant spacing
• 24 to 36 inches in the row
• 36 to 48 inches between the row

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Trenching-in long stemmed plants
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Mulches
Penn. State University research indicates that
tomatoes yielded slightly better on red plastic
mulch

• Retain Moisture
• Reduce weeds
• Reduce blossom end rot
• Cleaner fruit
• Reduce rain splash

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Pruning and StakingIndeterminates

• Leave two main stems
• Remove suckers between leaves and main stem
• Remove suckers before they get 2 ½ inches long
• Remove late season (after Sept 1) flower buds

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Pruning and Staking

• Advantages
• Promotes early, larger and cleaner fruits
• Easier to harvest
• May help reduce disease problems
• Disadvantages
• Lower yields
• Increase risk of sunscald and fruit cracking

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Caged tomatoes

• Little or no pruning
• Produce more fruit
• Later Ripening
• Low sunscald

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Trellis
Basket Weave
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Fertilizing Tomatoes
Soil Test Sandy soils low organic matter 6
oz./plant 10-10-10 Heavy soils with higher
organic matter 4oz. 5-20-20 DO NOT over apply
nitrogen promotes vegetative growth
decreases fruit production increases chance of
diseases
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Diseases of Tomatoes

• Fungal
• Fusarium and Verticllium Wilts
• Early Blight
• Septoria Leaf Blight
• Fruit Anthracnose
• Bacterial
• Bacterial Spot and Speck
• Viral
• Cucumber Mosaic Virus

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Fusarium and Verticillium Wilts

• Soil borne pathogens
• Survives in soil for several years
• Plants generally affected through roots
• Rotation ( at least 2-3 years)
• Plant VF or VFN resistant varieties

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Septoria Leaf Blight

• Survives over winter on infected plant debris,
  and also on equipment stakes and cages
• Spores disperse by splashing water (rain,
  irrigarion) or workers moving through wet plants
• Favored by moist, warm weather
• Symptoms generally appear first on lower leaves

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Septoria Leaf Blight

• Rotation at least 2-3 years
• Remove and destroy infected plant debris,
  sanitize equipment
• Mulch (plastic preferred)
• Stake and dont over crowd plants
• Avoid overhead irrigation
• Irrigate in the morning
• Apply Fungicide
• Good coverage esp. on lower leaves
• Apply at least weekly when weather is favorable

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Early Blight

• Survives in infected plant debris
• Spores are wind dispersed
• Infections occur first on oldest leaves
• Rotation (at least 2-3 years)
• Sanitation
• Apply Fungicides

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Fruit Antracnose
Tobacco Mosaic Virus
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Blossom End Rot

• Caused by insufficient calcium when fruit are
  forming
• Result from excessive nitrogen fertilization
• Rapid plant growth
• Drastic fluctuations in soil moisture

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Catface

• Environmental disease
• Extreme malformations and scarring
• Effected during initial fruit development
• Caused by cool weather during fruit set or 2,4-D
  injury

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Tomato Hornworm Damage
Tomato Hornworm Larva
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Tomato Hornworm Adult

• Monitor Frequently
• Treat if more than one larva per 2 plants
• Bacillus thuringiensis

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Aphids

• Soft bodied
• Piercing sucking mouth parts
• Cause cupping and yellowing of leaf margins

• Scout weekly
• Insecticide soaps effective

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Cutworms

• Cut young stems near soil line
• Active at night
• Hide in the soil or under debris
• May climb and chew on green fruit

• Protect young plants with physical barrier
• Bacillus thuringiensis on older plants

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Installing a cutworm guard made from a paper
grocery bag at planting time
Tin cans work too
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Publications available form

• A1691 Home-Grown Tomatoes for WI
• A3687 Growing Tomatoes, Peppers and Eggplant in
  WI
• A3110 Disease-Resistant Vegetables for the Home
  Garden
• A2606 Early Blight Septoria Leaf Spot of
  Tomatoes
• A2617 Verticillium Fusarium Wilt of Tomatoes
• A1653 Vegetable Cultivars and Planting Guide for
  WI
• A2801 Growing Vegetables at Home Q A
• A3383 Mulches for Home Gardens and Planting

Visit our Horticulture website at
www.uwex.edu/ces/wihort
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Thank you for listening
Special thanks to Karen Delahaut, Rosemary Eiden,
Helen Harrison, Brain Hudleson, Jim Nienhuis,
Patti Nagai, Phil Pellitteri and Craig Saxe for
providing information and images for this
presentation.
Information in this presentation is for
educational purposes only. References to
commercial products or trade names is made with
the understanding that no discrimination is
intended and no endorsement by UW-Extension or
the author is implied
Barron County Master Gardener Garden Expo March
9, 2002