2003 Annual Report for FS03-165
Economics of Plant Spacing on Tomato Yield and Quality
Summary
Fresh-market tomato production is very expensive. And due to fairly stable tomato prices for the last several years, to make more money growers must either increase yield (while holding costs even) or decrease expenses. Reducing expenses by even ten percent would be a significant benefit to producers.
The objective of this study is to reduce expenses by reducing plant populations while maintaining present yields. When the number of plants per acre are reduced, the number of stakes needed, transplants, labor, etc. are reduced as well.
The producer will conduct a replicated trial evaluating four plant spacings. Fruits will be harvested daily, graded and weighed individually to determine total yield and average fruit size in different grades. Data will be statistically analyzed to determine significant differences among plant spacings.