1818 



TOMATO 



their rtivii;; 



.ive luiuMi 



posts slioiilil, as -d priiiiarv i>Toce<lure, be eradicated, 

 as far as possihle, fruiu tiie T(ai]atu plot. This at ouce 

 sut^gests the iiiiportaiK-e of crop rotation as a secoii.l 

 step, and tliei-L-aftt^r, in sequence, the destruction of 

 affcfted viin^s and ('.oiitii.'Uous vegetable matter, the se- 

 hM-li(.n of afi'as not rn-ently phmted with solanaceous 

 (.•n>]iK, ;iiid tiiially the importation of seed (for all soht- 

 ]i;mm (MIS j.huits "lus Widl as Tomatocs) from districts 

 kimwn lo U>' rxcin|.t from the blight. 



/n:urf /'r^^s■. -While these are relatively numerous, 

 less of a menace to the grow.-r 

 than either the fungous nr 

 the bacterial maladies. Only 

 the more important are 

 here mentioned. 



First, the boll worm. II<'l- 

 in/],!.-^ iirmif/cra. As the pru- 

 blem of the damage done by 

 this insect is of almost equal 

 interest to the cotton idunt- 

 er and the Tomato trurker, 

 the corngrower, too, being 

 largely concerned, it might 

 well be left in their hands 

 for solution, but for the fa<-r 

 tin\t the loss to the trucker 

 is not couflned to the direct 

 depredation of the worm it- 

 self, but a pathway is there- 

 by opened to the subsequent 

 iiiroads of the blight bacil- 

 lus, as stated. It is on this 

 --v^ Mt. ^^~;-K^HifTHy-,.ffy-v account that the trucker's 

 "^5" > W.^^^^!i interest in the"boll worm'' 



-^^yi' K I mU-^ aJlA ^y^ j3 paramonnt. Unfortu- 



nately no adequate remedy 

 Ir-yond hand -picking, the 

 "^^^l 'I'^O^^^^ i! ' ^^"^*- ^^^ cornas a "trap-plant " 



^~^l y^ J J^^^ I and the destruction of 



wormy fruit has ever been 

 suggested. 



Of the various cut worms 

 and wire worms almost the 

 same might be said, omit- 

 ting the interest of the cot- 

 ton planter. Remedies are 

 eciually illusive. Except the 

 stereotyped "sunrise worm hunt" with a bit of shingle, 

 and cabbage heaves or dough poisoned with Paris green 

 anil deposited at night about the plat, nothing of value 

 has ever been suggested. 



fland-picking for the great, green, sluggish tol)acco 

 worms, PliJciicUiinitiny. ('a ro/i iins, usually proves effec- 

 tive, in combinatidu wilh tlie proeess of poisoning f'il- 

 lowed by tobarru i^rowers by means of a solution of co- 

 balt and sugar (b^positrd rach afternoon, at dusk, in the 

 corollaof the .Tjiii|ison weed, Datura StramoniuDi , which 

 the tdhaci'ii nii'th fn-ipn-iits. 



The lh';t lie, ■tic. Plnillnlrrln /'///afr/ , pinholing the foli- 

 atT'^ in i-hiinmy, cloudy weather and thereby assisting 

 the inrnads of fungi and bacilli, is sometimes repelled 

 thou^di Tint destroyed by Bordeaux mixture. 



Nematode galls, Fig. 2144, p. 1545, caused l)y the 

 "vinegar eels," He fe rod era radicicoJa , which affect cot- 

 ton, peas and certain other garden plants, freciuently do 

 mul'h damage to the Tomato. Tbey can be avoided only 

 liy rotation of area and ]n'eventing the contiguity of any 

 of their host plants — y)arti(mlarly cowpeas. 



After all, the chief injury wrought by insects upon 

 the Tomato consists not so much in direct depredation 

 as in the inciilental transfer of bacterial germs through 

 their agenr-y. Boll worms, thrips, Colorado and flea 

 beetles, and other forms relatively innocuous in them- 

 selves, become, for this reason, a serious menace. 

 Were their complete extinguishment possible, the coui- 

 mercial prospects and possibilities of the Tomato plant 

 would h(^ iiiHnitely improved. Hxtitt N 8t vrnes 



Tomato Growing Under Glass.- The Tomato is now 

 one of the most po|iuJar vegetable crops for forcing-. It 

 is grown to a consiileral)le extent near most of tlic lar^n- 

 eastern cities. Very often it is grown in conned inn 

 with carnations or other pilants. The houses may be 



2524. Stake-trained Tomato. 



TOMATO 



used for carnations during the winter season and for 

 Tomatoes in late winter and early spring when the out- 

 side temperature becomes warmer. In many cases, 

 however, houses are used almost exclusively for To- 

 mato growing. The forced crop usually comes into 

 market during holidays and runs until May or even 

 June. The winter crop is usually rehitively light and 

 tlie Tomatoes small. The crop that matures when the 

 days are long, from April on, is much heavier and tlie 

 fruits are considerably larger. Nearly all the heavy 

 yields and large specimens that are reported in the pub- 

 lic I'ress are secured in the later crops. 



iMany Tomato growers aim to have crops from two 

 sets of plants. One set of plants produces a crop in 

 midwinter or somewhat later, and the other set comes 

 into l)earing in April or May. These crops may be 

 raised in different houses, succeeding other plants. If 

 they are gi'own in boxes, however, they may be handled 

 in tlie same house, the pots for the second crop being 

 set between those of the hrst crop before that crop is off. 

 In many instances, however, only one crop is grown; 

 that is to say, the effort is made to secure a more or 

 less continuous picking from one set of yjlants running 

 over a period of two months or more. 



The Tomato requires a uniform and high tempera- 

 ture and is very subject to diseases and difhculties when 

 grown under glass. There are many risks in the busi- 

 ness of Tomato growing in winter. It is probable that 

 there is no money to be made from it when the price 

 falls below thirty cents per pound, and perhaps the limit 

 of profit, taking all things into consideration, is not 

 much Ijelow forty cents. 



Tomatoes are now usually grown on benches or in 

 solid beds, preferably the former. Sometimes they are 

 grown in boxes ]0 or 12 inches 

 square or in 10- or 12-inch pots, 

 luit greater care is exercised to 

 grow them in this way and the 

 expense is also increased. 

 Plants may be raised either 

 from cuttings or from seeds. 

 Seedlings are usually preferred 

 in this countr3^ It requires 

 from four to five months to se- 

 cure ripe Tomatoes after the 

 seeds are sown. The young 

 plants are usually started in 

 flats and are then transplanted 

 to other flats or, preferably, to 

 pots. Tliey should be stocky 

 and well grown and about G 

 or 8 inches high when they 

 are placed in the beds. 



Sometimes the old idants are 

 lient down at the base and one 

 or two feet of the stem covered 

 with earth; the top then re- 

 news itself, particularly if cut 

 back, and a new crop of fruit 

 is protluced. Plants can be 

 ke]"'t in liearing for two sea- 

 sons. Healthier phints and bet- 

 ter results are usually seeured. 

 however, when new plants are 

 used for each succeeding crop, 

 although time may be saved by 

 the laying-down process. 



As grown in tliis couiil ry win- 

 ter toniato plants an; usually 

 trained to a sin^rb' slem. l»eing 

 supi">orted by a cord that runs 

 from near tlie base of the plant 

 to a sujijiort overhead. In this 

 s)-sti-m of training the ]ilants 

 may stand 2 feet apart each 

 wav or even less. The side 

 sln'.ots are lunched out as fast as they appear, the mam 

 ci-ofral shoot bciui,^ allowed to grow. It is loosely tied 

 to a cord or wire as it nscrmls. Usually the main stem 

 is slot.|>cd when it rraidies about 5 feet in height. Some 

 iHO-^ons iirefer to start ;i to 5 stems from near the crown 

 of 1lio plant and to train Ibi'ui fan-shape. When this is 

 done the plants should stand from 2 to 3 feet apar« 



2525 





A strand of winter 



Tomato, showing the 

 clusters supported by 

 shngs. 



