MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 419 

 Table I. Effect of Trellising on the Yield of Tomatoes. 



In taking the harvest records the first three pickings were considered the early 

 portion. 



There was some difference between results obtained at Waltham and at Am- 

 herst but part of this was due to soil type and weather. The season warms up 

 faster at Waltham, thereby producing a larger yield of early fruit. 



It is in 'the early yield that the trellis tomatoes show up to greater advantage. 

 The trellised plots averaged a little over twice as much early fruit as the flat- 

 culture plots. The Waltham average was even greater, for in two of the four 

 years of the experiments the trellised plants produced four times as .many early 

 fruits. There was little difference in the size and quality of the early fruits, but 

 for the complete harvest the fruits on trellis were larger. 



A special set of grades was used in these experiments because of the preference 

 of the Boston Market for small fruits: No. 1, fruit 2J^ inches and over in diameter, 

 uniform in shape and color, and free from cracks; No. 2, IJ^ to 2}( inches in 

 diameter, fairly uniform, and mostly smooth (shallow cracks allowed). All 

 rough, small, catface, poorly colored and deeply cracked fruits were classified as 

 culls. The Waltham Forcing variety of tomato is naturally quite uniform in 

 size and shape, and produces a much smaller percentage of rough fruits than do 

 the larger varieties. 



The percentage of No. 1 fruit is very important to the grower, particularly in 

 the early part of the season when prices are high. In the early yield the trellis 

 plants produced 6 percent more No. 1 fruits. For the total crop the flat culture 

 method was ahead in No. 1 fruits by 3 percent. 



It is well known that where plants are trellised and supported, and exposed to 

 wind and sun, more cracking of the fruit occurs. At Waltham the trained plants 

 had 40 to 50 percent more cracking of fruits than those grown flat. Even with 

 this high percentage of cracking, which automatically classed the fruit as culls, 

 the trellised plants produced only 3 percent fewer No. 1 fruits than the flat grown. 



The amount of cracking varies with the year and the season. There is very 

 little in the early season while many times the last of the crop is severely affected 

 In the years when the yield was large, there was usually a smaller percentage of 

 cracked fruit; indicating that the factors which increase yield and growth also 

 reduce the cracking. 



From these experiments, and the experience of growers, it is evident that the 

 amount of cracking will be small where the supply of moisture in the soil can be 

 kept uniform and the plants and fruits constantly growing. 



Varieties of Tomatoes for the Trellis 



The selection of a variety of tomato for use on trellis depends to a marked 

 extent upon the market dernand. Boston pays high prices for the small, more 



