- Tomato Field Trials Help
California Growers Evaluate
- By Lisa Lieberman
California Correspondent
- California experienced some extreme fluctuations in weather this past growing season and some unexpected bouts of phytophthora in the northern part of the San Joaquin Valley. Because of this some growers got a chance to see how well some new up and coming tomato varieties performed in a diversity of growing conditions this year.
Growers and university personnel from around the valley converged earlier this year in Stockton, Calif. to discuss preliminary results of a number of replicated field trials.
In terms of yield, QualiT 21, Bobcat, QualiT 23 and Sun Brite were the four varieties that came out ahead of the pack, with respective yields of 1,502 boxes, 1,439 boxes, 1,359 and 1,258 boxes per acre, said Bob Mullen, vegetables crops and weed science farm adviser with the University of California Cooperative Extension in Stockton.
In Merced, the top varieties were QualiT 21, BHN 503, Bobcat, and BHN 102. These varieties had respective yields of 2,396, 2,097, 2,023, and 2,010 boxes per acre.
In Tulare and Kings counties, the top four yielding varieties were BHN 358, PS 150440, QualiT 21, and Classy Lady with yields of 2,751, 1,953, 1,876, and 1,776 boxes per acre.
Over the last eight years, Shady Lady, which is known for its uniform sizing, and consistent quality, has been one of the most widely planted varieties in California.
Although Shady Lady, didn’t produce as much as some of the other newer varieties, Shady Lady produced the highest percentage of large tomato sizes, measuring two-and-a-half to three inches in diameter, said Bill Weir, University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor in Merced County.
Buyers generally prefer large-sized tomatoes over extra large or medium tomatoes, Weir said.
Michelle Le Strange, University of California Cooperative Extension farm advisor in Tulare & Kings counties, said Shady Lady also consistently produces uniform sizes, which is important to buyers.
Some growers said they liked other varieties as well, including QualiT 21 and QualiT 23 which seemed to hold up better to phytophthora. Phytophthora is a condition which causes root rot in tomato plants.
On one test field in Stockton that had heavy phytophthora, the Quality 21 tomatoes yielded 14.8 tons per acre whereas the Shady Lady yielded 11.3 tons per acre.
In another field test where phytophthora was also, a problem, QualiT 21 yielded 22.7 tons per acre while the Shady Lady only produced 8.3 tons per acre.
Charlie Duncan, field representative for San Joaquin Tomato Growers, Inc., Crows Landing, Calif., said that his company has been moving over from Shady Lady to Quality 21 and 23. Last year, about two-thirds of the company’s production was QualiT 21 and 23. This year, Duncan said he plans to plant three-quarters of his acreage with the QualiT varieties.
“The QualiT 21 and QualiT 23 are classier looking fruits. They seem to be firmer, rounder, and glossier (compared to) the Shady Lady which sometimes has got a high shoulder and can be flat. Shady Ladies are a good quality tomato, but they’re just not as pretty, and that’s what we sell is cosmetics,” Duncan said.
During extreme heat spells during the season this year, the QualiT 21 seemed to hold up better than other varieties, which at times had difficulty setting, Duncan said.
Another advantage of the QualiT 21 is that it’s the only tomato variety that is nematode resistant. Duncan also found that QualiT 21 stood up well to phytophthora in the fields.
In one field, Duncan had 50 acres of Shady Lady and two acres of QualiT 21.
“We were surprised at how well the QualiT 21 withstood the problem. We had a pretty decent crop with it (whereas) the Shady Lady wasn’t harvestable at all,” Duncan said.
QualiT 21 has an advantage over QualiT 23 in that it produces an average of 200 to 300 more boxes more per acre, Duncan said. However, since QualiT 21 produces such a vigorous vine, on good quality soil, this may become problematic if the plants produce too many large vines and not enough fruit. On good quality ground, it’s sometimes better to grow QualiT 23 since it produces a smaller vine, Duncan said.
Timing the plantings of the QualiT 21 and 23 is important, Duncan said. In general, Duncan tries to plant the QualiT 21 early in the season and QualiT 23 in the later part of the season, while interspersing the two varieties mid-season.
Since QualiT 21 does get such vigorous growth, Duncan plants this variety early in order to avoid dealing with large-vined plants later in the season. During the later part of the growing season when temperatures drop and more dew collects on the plants, large vines can slow down harvest since growers need to wait for the plants to dry out before picking, Duncan said.
With QualiT 23, Duncan tries to avoid harvesting before July, since early harvests have more of a tendency to cat face, Duncan said.
While Duncan is one among many growers who tout the attributes of QualiT 21 and 23, Michael Stefani, a field representative for West Coast Tomato said that his company has been growing Show Girl for the past three years, Stefani said.
Compared to some varieties, Show Girl shows good resistance to nematodes, Stefani said.
“The vines on the Show Girl seem to stay together a little better (with nematodes) and hang in a little longer than we find the Shady Lady sometimes does,” Stefani said.
The shape, size, and flavor of the Show Girl is very similar to the Shady Lady, although it takes an extra four to five days to size up, Stefani said.
In fields where Shady Lady and Show Girl were planted side by side, Stefani found that he got 10-15% better production with the Show Girl, he said.
In addition to the Shady Lady and Show Girl, Stefani said he’s had good success with Mountain Fresh, an earlier season variety.
Mountain Fresh takes eight to 10 days longer to mature than other tomato varieties, Stefani said.
-
Since the plant produces big vines, West Coast Tomato plants Mountain Fresh in April and mid-May for July and August harvests, Stefani said.
“We get less sunburn with the big vines, so we feel the Mountain Fresh works better for July and August,” Stefani said.
While Mountain Fresh is a good early variety, especially in Brawley, Calif., PS 150440 is another variety that San Joaquin Tomato Growers has been working with.
“It’s an early variety, and we like to plant it in March and April in the Huron area. It’s a good yielder and a firm tomato that looks good and is very vigorous,” Duncan said.
