UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



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Washington, D. C. 



August, 1922 



FROST INJURY TO TOMATOES/ 



By R. B. Haevey, formerly Plant Physiologist, Ofjice of Plant Physiological and 

 Fermentation Investigations, and R. C. Weight, Physiologist, Office of Horti' 

 cultural and Pomological Investigations, Bureau of Plant Industry. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Introduction 1 



Varieties studied and results 2 



Undercooling 4 



Effect of cold on the tomato plant 5 



Studies in the fleld_ 



Summary 



Literature cited 



rage. 



10 



INTRODUCTION. 



The importance of our tomato industry and the fact that a large 

 part of the crop is shipped and handled during the winter and early 

 spring months make the knowledge of the freezing temperatures of 

 tomatoes of considerable economic importance to growers, shippers, 

 and handlers of this crop. 



Some idea of the scope of the tomato industry in the United States 

 may be obtained from the following statistics compiled by the Bureau 

 of Markets of the United States Department of Agriculture. Farm- 

 ers' Bulletin 1233, " Tomatoes for Canning and Manufacturing," con- 

 tains some additional data on the importance of the industry {!)-. 

 During the year 1919 approximately 14,469 cars of tomatoes were 

 shipped to all markets. In 1918 the number of cars was 15,458 ; in 

 1917 there were 13,910 cars ; and in 1916 14,749, making a 4-year aver- 

 age of 14,646 cars. The States which ship field-grown tomatoes to the 

 early market are Florida, Mississippi, Texas, and California, and they 

 furnished 8,184 cars, or 56 per cent, of this yearly average. The total 

 production and value of the crop of tomatoes for shipping from these 

 four principal States in 1919 are shown in Table 1. 



1 This bulletin presents the results of a portion of the work carried on in the Bureau 

 of Plant Industry under the project "Factors Affecting the Storage Life of Vegetables." 



2 The serial numbers (italic) in parentheses refer to "Literature cited," at the end of 

 this bulletin. 



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