TRELLIS TOMATOES 13 



Row Application 



Some growers have followed the practice of putting all or a part of the fertilizer 

 in the row, working it into the soil to some extent before setting the plants. 

 Almost all local growers set tomato plants by hand so it is not possible for them 

 to use machinery to apply fertilizer in the row at the same time the plants are 

 set. Some have put both fertilizer and manure in the row. 



To test the value of row application, the ton of 5-8-7 fertilizer was dug into the 

 top 6 inches of soil where the row was to be made. The results of this treatment 

 are shown in Table 3. At VValtham the yields were not increased by having the 

 fertilizer in the row, the amount of fruit produced being almost identical with 

 that from the plots where the fertilizer was broadcast; at Amherst, there was a 

 slight increase in total yields. 



In general it is considered that when the fertilizer is applied in the row larger 

 crops can be produced with less fertilizer than when it is broadcasted o\^er the 

 entire area. Since broadcasting can be done mechanically, it is less expensive 

 than row application. 



In some sections putting the fertilizer in bands alongside the row is much pre- 

 ferred to placing it in the row. If the roots of the plants in growing downward 

 do not have to grow through the fertilizer there is much less chance of their being 

 burned. This method of applying fertilizer has long been used with potatoes, 

 and during the last two years of these experiments it was tried in comparison 

 with broadcasting. One year the band method was inferior to broadcasting or 

 row placement of fertilizer; but the other year it was superior to broadcasting 

 and about the same as in-the-row treatment. In this connection it should be 

 pointed out that plenty of irrigation was used to start the plants so there was 

 probably no chance for the fertilizer in the row to burn. 



The value of the row application depends to some extent on the amount of 

 fertilizer applied. Five hundred pounds per acre would probably produce better 

 tomatoes if placed in the row than if broadcast, but when a ton or more of ferti- 

 lizer per acre is used in conjunction with manure, row application is of less im- 

 portance. 



In the light of the results of these studies it is questionable whether growers can 

 afford to place the fertilizer in the row unless it can be done with machinery. 



Organic Nitrogen 



Growers have always been interested in the \alue of having a good portion of 

 the nitrogen in the fertilizer in an organic form, particularl>- for long-season crops 

 like tomatoes. In these experiments one treatment was included with a special 

 5-8-7 fertilizer in which three-fourths of the nitrogen was derived from an or- 

 ganic material such as tankage. The amount of fertilizer used was the same as 

 the standard application. The use of this quantity of organic nitrogen depressed 

 the early yield of tomatoes at Waltham slightly but there was no appreciable 

 difference in the total yields. At Amherst the early yield was about the same, 

 but the total yield was slightly greater than with the regular fertilizer as shown 

 in Table 3. 



It will require more experimental work to really determine the value of organic 

 nitrogen for tomatoes. Since organic nitrogen costs about three times as much 

 as chemical forms, the increase in yield must be decisive to justify its use. 



