A32-Lancasttr Farming, Saturday, February 4, 1995
Vei
Stake System Provides Better Tomatoes, Income For Growers
(Continued from Pago A 1)
look down from above it you see
no plastic, according to Sanders.
The North Carolina system
harvests three times in the season.
Also, growers are careful to
inspect for wind or storm damage
and to ensure the trellises remain
upright.
While many growers rely on the
staked, trellis system for better
yields, bigger fruit and more uni
form growth, research is under
way at North Carolina to provide a
“self-pruning, self-supporting
upright” tomato system. So far,
results from studies have been
encouraging.
Cost before harvest for such a
system is about $3,500 an acre, for
net returns per acre of $7,500,
because of the higher volume of
Emit over conventional systems.
Other research has examined the
dramatic effects of foliar boron
applications on potassium uptake
and keeping nutrient, mostly
potassium, levels up in the plant to
ensure a more marketable fruit.
Stake-Grown Tomato
Cost Study
Dr. Robin Brumfield, Rutgers
University farm management spe
cialist, provided results on a cost
analysis study involving stake
grown tomatoes in New Jersey.
Fresh market tomato sales for
New Jersey reached $2O million in
1992, according to Brumfield, and
while acreage has been falling,
production has been increased
because of the stake-grown
method.
But growers who use the system
must keep in mind the costs of
materials for the system and the
labor costs that go into a stake
trellis system of production.
Field studies were undertaken at
the Rutgers University Snyder
Farm from 1991-1993. Six com
merical growers were also
involved in the study, including
three large growers (more than IS
acres). The Rutgers University
farm served as the “model” farm
for the study, using a combination
of drip irrigation and black plastic
mulch.
The study incorporated infor
mation on the market price per box
of fresh tomatoes, state labor costs,
and examined all the materials,
time, and labor used to provide a
fresh-market, stake-grown
product
The conclusion of the study
showed that while the cost per box
of tomatoes was considerably
higher than the conventional, bare
ground method of growing fruit,
because of the substantially
Dwight Hess, a grower for Furman Foods in Marietta, far right, moderated a panel
that discussed tomato grower experiences using carousel planters. All agreed there
was a definite and significant advantage to using either six-cup or eight-cup trans
plants over the finger method. From left, Ken Martin, farm manager, Furman Foods,
Northumberland; Dale Frank, Elizabethtown; Dan Mowrer, Marietta; Cliff Charles,
Lancaster; and Hess. Photo by Andy Andrews
stable Conference Research Examines Stake System, Transplants, Planters
Dr. Robin Brumfield, Rut
gers University farm manage
ment specialist, provided
results on a cost analysis
study Involving stake-grown
tomatoes In New Jersey.
Dr. Douglas Sanders,
extension specialist with the
North Carolina State Univer
sity at Raleigh, presented
information about staked
tomato plant research to a
roomful of vegetable growers
on Tuesday at the 1995 Pen
nsylvania Vegetable Confer
ence and Trade Show.
increased yields, cost per box
dropped and net returns increased
significantly.
Forty percent of cost per box
was tied up ii) labor. Total costs per
acre were $11,415 with the staked
system, compared to $4,788 with
the conventional method. But in
the end, profits with the stake sys
tem were higher. Net profit was
$5,400 per acre with the staked
Pennsylvania’s 1994 tomato growing champions were honored on Tuesday at the
state vegetable conference. From left, James Kohl, president of the state vegetable
growers; Clyde Kreider, class 3 machine harvest, 25-39 acres; Cliff Charles, class 1
machine harvest, 60 or more acres; Dale Frank, class 2 machine harvest, 40-59 acres;
Darwin Nissley, Nissley Brothers, class 4 machine harvest (15-24 acres); Bernard
Nissley; and Robert Macßeth, class 1 hand harvest, 15 or more acres. Photo by Andy
Andnwa
system versus $1,698 per acre with
the conventional, bare-ground
system.
Brumfield said growers obtain
higher yield and better fruit with
the staked system and a good net
return on investment But growers
have to get the yields up (using irri
gation) because a lot of money is
invested in the stake system.
Comparing
Transplants
Overall, growers can benefit in a
bigger, more robust plant and per
haps better yields when using a
Pennsylvania-grown tomato trans
plant according to Joseph Ciardi,
Penn State University graduate
student
Ciardi presented the results of a
tomato transplant study comparing
Florida-grown and Pennsylvania
grown transplants during a two
year period.
Penn State evaluated eight diffe
rent toAiato transplant production
methods in the study during the
1993-1994 growing seasons.
Researchers used the same variety,
Hypeel 696 from Peto, a process
ing tomato. The transplants used a
non-fortified plug mix with an ebb
and flow watering system in
tables, in Todd planter flats from
Speedling, using 392-cell trays.
The transplants, when planted to
fields, were all seven weeks old.
Several transplant methods
were utilized. One used Hydretain,
a water uptake material, drenched
in the roots. Another used a nutri
ent conditioner in solution, soak-
The Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association hon
ored two members with lifetime memberships, presented
by James Kohl, president of the association, far right, on
Tuesday evening. From left, Donald Daum, University Park;
Tom Jurqhak, Clarks Summit; and Kohl.
ing roots for three days. One set of
transplants were chilled at S 3
degrees, once for three days (in
1993) and for seven days (in
1994) Some were hardened for a
week in cold frames. Transplants
went in fields by hand the third
week of May in 1993 and 1994.
What they found was that the
water uptake material increased
plant growth, making the plants
taller and more spindly at trans
planting. The nutrient bath pro
vided a more vigrous transplant,
but the roots intertwined in the
Richard Pallman, Pallman Farms, Clarks Summit, left,
presents a special award to James Kohl, president of the
state vegetable growers, at the banquet during the state
vegetable conference Tuesday evening.
trays. The chilled plants provided a
higher growth rate and helped the
transplants adapt more readily to
cold soils in die spring.
What the researchers found was
that, in both 1993 and 1994,
despite different growing type
years, the locally grown trans
plants grow much larger than the
Florida counterparts, according to
Ciardi.
According to Ciardi,
Pennsylvania-grown transplants
had a higher growth rate and a
(Turn to Pag* A3B)