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So treated the plants will ripen the upper one or two clusters very early but will yield little more until late in the season, and it is generally more profitable to plow them up and put in some other crop as soon as the first clusters of fruit have ripened. Others pinch out the central bud as soon as it is well formed, usually within 10 days from the sowing of the seed. When this is done a great proportion of the plants will start branches from the axils of the cotyledons; these usually develop blossoms in the third to the fifth node and produce fruit much lower than in a normal plant. It is questionable if there is any gain in time from seed to fruit by this method, but it enables one to get older plants of a size which it is practicable to transplant to the field.
In most cases it will be found more profitable and satisfactory so to grow the plants that by the time they can be safely set out of doors they will be in vigorous condition, about 6 to 10 inches tall, stout, healthy and well hardened off. Such plants will ripen fruit nearly, and often quite as early as older ones and will produce a constant succession of fruit, instead of ripening a single cluster or two and then no more until they have made a new growth.
For late summer and early fall.—It is generally true in the South and often equally so in the North, that there is a more eager local demand for tomatoes in the late summer and fall months, after most of the spring set plants have ceased bearing, than in early summer. In Michigan I have often been able to get more for choice fruit in late October and in November than the best Floridas were sold for in May or early June, and certainly in the South the home use of fresh tomatoes should not be confined to spring set plants. For the fall crop in the South seed may be sown in late spring or up to the middle of July, in beds shaded with frames, covered with lath nailed 3 to 4 inches apart and the plants set in the field about 40 days from sowing, the same care being taken to put the ground into good condition as is recommended for the spring planted crop.
A second plan, which has sometimes given most excellent results, is to cut back spring set plants which have ripened some fruit but which are not completely exhausted, to mere stubs, and spade up the ground about them so as to cut most of the roots, water thoroughly and cover the ground with a mulch of straw. Most of the plants so treated will start a new and vigorous growth and give most satisfactory returns.
Fruit at least expenditure of labor.—When this is the great desideratum, many growers omit the hotbed and even the pricking out, sowing the seed as early as they judge the plants will be safe from frost, and broadcast, either in cold-frames or in uncovered beds, at the rate of 50 to 150 to the square foot and transplanting directly to the field. Or they may be advantageously sown in broad drills either by the use of the pepper-box arrangement suggested on page 60, or a garden drill adjusted to sow a broad row. In Maryland and the adjoining states, as well as in some places in the West, most of the plants for crops for the canners are grown in this way and at a cost of 40 cents or even less a 1,000. The seed should be sown so that it will be from 1/4 to 1/2 inch apart and the plants thinned as soon as they are up so that they will be at least 1/2 inch apart. Where seed is sown early with no provision for protection from the frost it is always well to make other sowings as soon as the last begins to break ground in order to furnish reserve plants, if the earlier sown lots be destroyed by frost. Others even sow the seed in place in the field, thinning out to a single one in a hill when the plants are about 2 inches high. Some of the largest yields I have ever known have been raised in this way, but the fruit is late in maturing and generally the method is not so satisfactory as starting the plants where they can be given some protection, and transplanting them to the field.
Plants for the home garden.—These may be grown in pots or boxes set in the sunniest spot available and treated as has been described. In this way plants, equal to any, may be grown without the aid of either hotbed or greenhouse. It will generally be more satisfactory, however, to secure the dozen or two plants needed from some one who has grown them in quantity than to grow so small a lot by themselves. In selecting plants, take those which are short, stiff, hard, and dark green in color with some purple color on the lower part of the stem rather than those which are softer and of a brighter green, or those in which the foliage is of a yellowish green; but in selection it must be remembered that varieties differ as to the color of foliage, so that there may be a difference in shade which is not due to conditions.
Plants under glass.—If to be grown in pots or boxes, "prick out," when small, into three-inch pots and as they grow re-pot several times so that when set in the pots or beds in which they are to fruit, they are stout plants 12 to 16 inches high. Plants propagated from cuttings give much better returns relatively under glass than out of doors.
CHAPTER XI
Proper Distance for Planting
The best distance apart for the plants to be set in the field varies greatly with the soil, the variety, the methods of cultivation and other conditions. Plants set as close in rich clay soil as would give the best results in a warm, sandy one, or those of a strong growing sort, like Buckeye State, set as close as would be desirable for sorts, like Atlantic Prize or Dwarf Champion, would give little but leaves and inferior fruit. In field culture I like to space the plants so as to facilitate gathering the fruit, and recommend the following arrangement: Set the plants according to soil and the variety 2-1/2 to 4 feet apart in the row, omitting two or three in every 75 or 100 plants so as to form driveways across the rows. Set the first and second and the third and fourth rows, etc., 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 and the second and third and the fourth and fifth rows 5-1/2 to 6 feet apart. As the plants grow, those of the first and second and those of the third and fourth rows, etc., are thrown together and in many cases it will pay to have a pair of narrow horizontal strips or wires nearly 18 inches from the ground upon which they can be thrown.
This arrangement of the plants allows us to continue to cultivate the wider spaces between the second and third and fourth and fifth, etc., rows, much longer, and tends to confine the necessary tramping and packing of the soil when gathering the fruit chiefly to these rows—an important point in case the soil is wet. The rows can be marked out the day before, but it is better to set the plants in the cross-rows and that these be marked out just ahead of the setters. In this arrangement the distances are equivalent to from 2-1/2x4 feet, requiring 4,300 plants to the acre, to 4x5 feet, requiring but about 2,100 plants. The latter distance is that most commonly used by New Jersey growers.
In the home garden.—It will usually be more satisfactory to give each plant plenty of space, setting them 5 or 6 feet apart each way, except in the case of the dwarf sorts, which should be from 3-1/2 to 3 feet apart. A few plants at these distances will usually be much more satisfactory than more set nearer together, but the larger growing sorts should have at least 3 feet and the dwarf sorts 2 feet. When one has a hotbed or cold-frame it is often an advantage to set a row of tomato plants nearly 18 inches apart at the back end much earlier than they could be safely set in the open ground, and if these are allowed to grow on in place, as shown in Fig. 19, being pruned and tied to stakes, they will give some very early fruit.
In the greenhouse.—Experience and practice differ as to the most desirable distance apart for plants under glass. But 2 feet apart, where quality is the main consideration, and 18 inches when quantity, if fair, is of more importance than extra quality.
Setting plants in the field.—The economical and successful setting of plants in the field is an important element of successful tomato culture and is very dependent upon soil and weather conditions. It is assumed that the soil of the field has been put into the best possible condition of tilth, but its condition as to moisture is also very important. The worst condition is when it is wet and muddy, especially if it is at all clayey—not only is the cost of setting greatly increased, but plants set in such soil can seldom, by any amount of care, be made to do well, especially if a heavy beating rain or dry windy weather follows immediately; the condition is less unfavorable if a warm gentle rain or still moist weather follows. A dry cold wind, even if the day is cloudy and the soil in good condition, is also unfavorable, particularly if the roots of the plants are exposed.
Wet soil, cold, dry air and wind are the conditions to be avoided. Moist, not wet, soil and still, warm air are to be desired; whether the day is sunny or not is less important. There is a certain definite time, which does not usually extend beyond a few days, when any lot of plants is in the best condition for setting in the field. It is hardly possible to describe this condition more than to say it is when the plants are as large as they can be without crowding and are in a state where they can best stand the shock of removal.
It will always be a matter of judgment as to how long it is best to hold plants, which are in condition for setting, for favorable weather conditions. They can sometimes be held a few days, by scant watering and full exposure, or in some cases by taking from the bed and heeling in, as nurserymen do trees; but it is better to set when the weather is unfavorable or to run some risk from frost rather than to hold them in this way too long. The wise selection of time for setting is an important factor in securing a good and profitable crop.
The South Jersey growers, to whom early ripening fruit is the great desideratum and who have a very warm soil, and grow plants so they are quite hardy and can be transplanted with little check, set them in the field very early, some seasons by the last of April; and if the plants can be got out so as to have two or three days of favorable weather to get established before it comes, they seem to be little hurt even by a quite severe frost. The first essential to successful transplanting is to have well-grown, healthy, hardy plants; the second is that they be in good condition for setting, which can be secured by giving them, for a few days before planting, a scant supply of water and fullest possible exposure to air and sun, and then a thorough wetting a few hours before they are to be set.
The South Jersey plan of growing and setting plants gets them into the field in the best condition of any method I know. Two to five days before they expect to plant, the growers go over the beds and, by means of a hoe that has been straightened and sharpened to form a sort of spade, they cut through the soil and manure so as to divide the plants into blocks of six. A few hours before they are to plant, they saturate the bed with water. By means of a flattened shovel they can take up the blocks of plants and place them in a cart or low wagon so the soil is scarcely disturbed at all, the roots in the manure serving to bind the whole together. In the meantime furrows are opened along the rows and the cart driven to the field; the plants in the blocks are cut apart with a butcher knife placed in the furrow and the earth drawn about them.
Plants set in this way often do not wilt at all, even in hot sunshine. When plants are grown in boxes these can be taken to the field and plants taken from them in much the same way and so that they will be disturbed but little. In setting the plants it should always be borne in mind that while sunshine on the leaves of a plant rarely does any injury, it is very injurious to the roots, and the exposure of the roots to the sun or to cold, dry wind, should be avoided in every practicable way, such as by carrying the plants to the field laid on the sides of a box, which is then carried with its bottom toward the sun so as to have the plants in the shade, always handling the plant in the shade of one's body, etc. It is well worth while to walk to the end of the row to commence work in order to secure this. It is attention to such details that distinguishes one whose plants nearly always do well from one who loses a large proportion of those he handles.
Fruit at the least expenditure of labor.—The plants are prepared for setting by scant watering, and are taken up so as to secure as much root as possible with little soil adhering to them. Great care should be taken in taking the plants from the bed, and in handling them, to avoid twisting the stems, as to do so very seriously injures the plants, often to such an extent that they will fail to grow, no matter how carefully set out. Some growers dip the roots in a very thin clay mud, hardly thicker than thin cream, but I have not found this of advantage except, sometimes, when the roots are to be exposed for a longer period than usual and I do not recommend it for general use. In setting, holes are made either with a long dibble, in the hands of the one who distributes the plants, or by a short one, in the hands of the setter; the plants are dropped into them a little deeper than they had stood in the bed, the earth closed about the roots, by pressure from the side. Especial care should be taken that this is well done, particularly at the bottom; the earth should be so firmly pressed to the root that the plant cannot be easily pulled from the soil. In some sections transplanting machines (Fig. 20) are used and liked, but most planters prefer to set by hand and the additional cost is not great. An expert with one or two boys to assist in handling the plants can put out as many as 5,000 plants in a day. A machine requiring more help to run it can set from 15,000 to 20,000.
In the home garden, when but a few plants are to be set, it will be better to put them in after 4 P. M. and use water in setting, but the wet soil should be covered with some dry earth to prevent its caking.
In the greenhouse.—Plants are better set in the places where they are to fruit just before their first blossoms open and should be set in accordance with the suggestions given for transplanting to the field.
CHAPTER XII
Cultivation
For maximum crop.—As soon as plants are set the ground should be well cultivated to the greatest depth practicable. We should remember that the tomato needs for its best development a very friable soil, while the tramping necessary in setting out the plants and gathering the fruit tends to compact and harden the soil. Often transplanting has to be done when the soil is wet, and we need to counteract the injury from tramping by immediate cultivation; but, at the same time, we must avoid the disturbing of the plants any more than is necessary, and all of our cultivation should be done with these points in mind. Just how it can be done best will vary not only with the location and the facilities available, but with the weather conditions, so that it is not well to attempt to give explicit directions any further than that one can hardly cultivate too deeply for the first seven days nor too often for the first 30 days after the plants are set, provided he avoids turning the soil when it is too wet. Even walking through the field when the soil is wet is injurious and should be avoided, in proportion as the soil is a clayey one.
At least expenditure of labor.—I hardly need add to or change the suggestions given above for tomatoes at least cost, for any cultivation wisely given will probably do as much to reduce cost per bushel by increasing the yield per acre as any other expenditure. In the garden it is advisable that from the time the plants are set until the fruit ripens, the surface soil about them be stirred every evening when it is not actually wet.
In the greenhouse.—The surface of the soil should be kept open by frequent stirring or, as is the practice of some successful growers, it may be covered with a mulch of partially rotted manure. The plants should be watered only as needed to prevent wilt, and special pains taken to guard against too much moisture either in the soil or in the air, particularly on dark days. The night temperature should be uniformly about 60 deg. F. while in the day it should be 75 deg., and if it be bright and sunny it may go to 90 deg. or even higher. Air should be given freely whenever feasible to do so without too greatly reducing temperature. A moderate degree of moisture should be maintained in the air, care being taken that it does not become too moist, especially during dark days. There is more danger from the air becoming too moist than from its becoming too dry, though either extreme is injurious.
Pollinating.—The structure and relations of the parts of the tomato flower are such that while perfect pollination is possible, and in plants grown in the open air usually takes place without artificial assistance, it is not so likely to occur when plants are grown under glass, particularly in the winter months, and it is usually necessary to secure it by artificial means. With vigorous, healthy plants and on light, sunny days, it can be accomplished by jarring the plants near midday. This generally throws enough pollen into the air so that an abundance of it reaches each receptive stigma. With less vigorous plants and on dark days it is necessary to hand pollinate the flowers. This is done by gathering the pollen by means of jarring the plants, so that it falls into a watch crystal or other receptacle secured at the end of a wand, and then pressing the projecting pistils of other flowers into it so that they may become covered with the pollen.
Some growers transfer the pollen with a camel's-hair-brush; others by pulling off the corolla and adhering anthers and rubbing them over the stigma of other flowers. Fruit rarely follows flowers that are not pollinated, and if it is incomplete the fruit will be unsymmetrical and imperfectly developed. As tomato flowers secrete but very little, if any, honey and are not attractive to insects, it is of no advantage to confine a hive of bees in the tomato house in the way which is so useful in one where cucumbers or melons are growing.
CHAPTER XIII
Staking, Training and Pruning
Under favorable conditions of soil and climate, plants of most varieties of tomatoes will, in field culture, yield as much fruit if allowed to grow naturally and unpruned as if trained and pruned. This is especially true of the sorts of the Earliana type and on warm, sandy soils, while it may not be true of the stronger growing sorts, or on rich clay lands or where the fertilizer used contains an excess of nitrogen. In any case more fruit can be grown to the acre on pruned and staked plants because more of them can be gotten on an acre; and it is an advantage to grow them in that way because it enables us, by later cultivation, to keep the ground in good tilth longer; also it facilitates the gathering of the fruit; and last, but not least, it generally enables us to produce better ripened and flavored fruit.
Staking and pruning used to be the almost universal practice in the South, but in many sections growers have abandoned it, claiming that they get as good or better results without it. In the North it is rarely used in field culture, though often used in private gardens and by some market gardeners, and both staking or tying up and pruning are essential to the profitable growing of tomatoes under glass. In the South, stout stakes from 1 to 2 inches in diameter and 4 to 5 feet long are driven into the ground so that they can be depended upon to hold the plants erect through the heaviest storms, as seen in Fig. 21. This is generally and wisely done as soon as the plant is set, though some growers delay doing so until the fruit is well set, claiming that the disturbance of staking, tying and pruning tends to hasten the ripening of the fruit. The plant is then tied up, the tying material being wrapped once about the stake and then looped about the plant so as to prevent slipping on the stake or choking the stem of the plant as it enlarges. Raffia is largely used and is one of the best tying materials, but short pieces of any soft, cheap string can be used. The tying up will need to be repeated as the stem elongates, which it will do very rapidly.
In pruning the tomato we should allow the central shoot of the young plant to grow, and remove all of the side shoots which spring from the axils of the leaves and sometimes even from the fruit clusters, as seen in Fig. 22. It is very desirable that this be done when the branches are small, as there is then less danger of seriously disturbing the balance of the growing forces of the plant, and also because there is less danger of careless workmen cutting off the main shoot in place of a lateral, which would seriously check the ripening of the fruit. It is especially important that any shoots springing from the fruit cluster be removed as early as possible. For these reasons it is important that, if the plants are to be pruned at all, the field be gone over every few days. If the pruning is not well done it is a disadvantage rather than a help.
Some growers allow two or three (Fig. 23) instead of one shoot to grow, selecting for the second the most vigorous of the shoots starting from below the first cluster of fruit. In some locations they stop or pinch out the main shoot just above the first leaf above the third or fourth cluster; in some soils it is an advantage and in others rather a disadvantage to do this. I have seldom practiced it. When fruit at the lowest cost a bushel is the desideratum, neither pruning nor staking is desirable.
For home gardens.—In the home garden trellising and pruning are often very desirable, as they enable us not only to produce more fruit in a given area but of better quality. Many forms of trellis, have been recommended. Where the plants are to be pruned as well as supported, as they should always be in gardens, there is nothing better than the single stake, as described above. For a trellis without pruning, one to three stout hoops supported by three stakes so as to surround the plant which is allowed to grow through and fall over them, or two or more parallel strips supported about a foot from the ground on each side of a row of plants answer the purpose, which is simply to keep the plant up from the ground and facilitate the free circulation of the air among leaves and fruit.
I have seen tomatoes grown very successfully by the side of an open fence. Two stakes were driven into the ground about 6 inches from the fence and the plant, but slanting outward and away from each other. The tops of the stakes were fastened to the fence by wooden braces, and then heavy strings fastened to the fence around the stakes and back to the fence, the whole with the fence forming a sort of inverted pyramidal vase about 3 feet across at the top. In this the plant was allowed to grow, but it would be essential to success that the fence be an open one.
In the greenhouse.—Here pruning and training are essential. The plants may be supported by wires or strings (a coarse wool twine will answer), twisting the string about the plant as it grows. The growth is usually confined to a single shoot, though some growers allow two (Fig. 24); the method of pruning does not differ from that given for field culture, but it is more important that the plants be gone over often and the branches removed when small. If allowed to do so, branches would spring from the axil of each leaf and the plant would become a perfect thicket of slender branches and leaves and produce but little fruit. The main stem is sometimes pinched out after three or four clusters of fruit are set and the branch from the axil of the first leaf above is allowed to take its place. This tends to hasten the maturing of the fruit clusters already set. After several clusters have matured, or the main stem reaches the top of the house, some growers allow a shoot from the bottom to grow and as soon as fruit sets on it the first stem is cut away and this takes its place. Others prefer to remove the old plant entirely and set in young ones. A plant ready for transplanting is shown in Fig. 25. In figures 26, 27 and 28 are shown interior views of greenhouses at the New York station at Geneva, the Ohio station at Wooster, and the New Hampshire station at Durham. Note the strong, vigorous plants in Fig. 26; the method of utilizing tile for watering in Fig. 27; and the ground-floor bedding in Fig. 28.
CHAPTER XIV
Ripening, Gathering, Handling and Marketing the Fruit
Tomatoes ripen and color from within outward and they will acquire full and often superior color, particularly about the stems, if, as soon as they have acquired full size and the ripening process has fairly commenced, they are picked and spread out in the sunshine. The point of ripeness when they can be safely picked is indicated by the surface color changing from a dark green to one of distinctly lighter shade with a very light tinge of pink. Fruit picked in this stage of maturity may be wrapped in paper and shipped 1,000 or 2,000 miles and when unwrapped after two or ten days' journey will be found to have acquired a beautiful color, often even more brilliant than that of a companion fruit left on the vine. Enclosing the fruit while on the vine and about half grown in paper bags has been recommended, and it often results in deeper and more even coloring and prevents injury from cracking, but the fruit so ripened, while more beautiful, is not so well flavored as that ripened in the sun. But Americans are said to taste with their eyes, so that in this country, fruit of this beautiful color will often out-sell that which is of better flavor though of duller color.
The tomato never acquires its full and most perfect flavor except when ripened on the vine and in full sunlight. Vine and sun-ripened tomatoes, like tree-ripened peaches, are vastly better flavored than those artificially ripened. This is the chief reason why tomatoes grown in hothouses in the vicinity are so much superior to those shipped in from farther south. After it has come to its most perfect condition on the plant the fruit deteriorates steadily, whether gathered or allowed to remain on the vine, and the more rapidly in proportion as the air is hot and moist. That it be fresh is hardly less essential to the first quality in a tomato than it is to such things as lettuce and cucumbers.
Gathering.—As is the case with most horticultural products, the best methods of gathering, handling and marketing the fruit vary greatly with the conditions under which the fruit was grown and how it is to be used, and it requires the best of judgment to gather it in the stage of maturity in which it will give the best satisfaction, under the conditions and for the purposes for which it is to be used. It is impossible to give exact rules for determining when the fruit is in the best condition. This can only be learned by experience, guided by a knowledge of the ripening habit of the fruit, which not only varies somewhat in different localities, but with different varieties. In the extreme South, fruit is picked for shipment before it shows more than the slightest tint of color at the blossom end; the depth of color which is considered as indicating shipping condition deepens as we go north and nearer market.
Generally the fruit should be left on the vine no longer than will permit of its becoming fully ripe by the time it reaches its destination and is exposed for sale. When the fruit is to be shipped any distance the field should be gone over frequently, as often as every second or third day or even every day in the hight of the season, and care taken to pick every fruit as soon as it is in proper condition. When it is to be sold in nearby markets or to a cannery the exact stage of maturity, when picked, is not so important, although it is always an advantage not to gather until the fruit is well colored and before it begins to soften. Some growers for canneries make but three or four pickings, but in this case it is well to gather the ripest fruit separately.
In picking and handling great care should be taken not to mar or bruise the fruit, and the stems should be removed as the fruit is picked to prevent bruising in handling. A bruise or mar may not be as conspicuous in a tomato as in a peach, but it is quite as injurious. It is a great deal better for pickers to use light pails rather than baskets, the flexibility of the latter often resulting in bruises. It is an advantage to have enough of these so that the sorting can be from the pail, but if this is not practical the fruit should be carefully emptied on a sorting table for grading. It should first of all be separated with regard to its maturity. A single fruit which is a little riper or greener than the remainder may make the entire package unsalable. It should also be graded as to freedom from blemishes or cracks, and as to size, form and color. It is assumed that the fruit for each package is to be of the same variety, but often there is quite a variation in different fruits from even the same vine; the more uniform in all respects the fruit in a package is the more attractive and salable it becomes. There is no fruit where careful grading and packing have more influence on the price it will command.
I know of a certain noted peach-grower in northern Michigan who grew, each year, some 2 to 5 acres of tomatoes for the Chicago market. It was his custom to pick out about one-tenth of the best of the fruit, putting it into small and attractively labeled packages; the remainder of the crop was sorted over and from one-tenth to one-fifth of it rejected and fed to stock or sold to a local cannery. The remainder was sent to Chicago with his selects, but as common stock, and usually brought more than his neighbors received for unsorted fruit; but the check he received for his selects was usually as large as that for his commons, thus giving him about 33-1/3 per cent. more for his crop than his neighbors received for their equally good, but unsorted, fruit—to say nothing of what he received for the rejected fruit and the saving of freight which, he said, was usually enough to pay the actual cost of sorting.
Tomatoes are usually classed as vegetables but, when ripe, they require as careful handling as the most delicate fruits and are as easily and seriously injured by bruising and jarring. Just how this can be avoided and the fruit gotten from the vine to the possibly distant consumer in the best condition will vary in different cases. Tomatoes from the South (Fig. 29) are generally marketed in carriers which, though varying somewhat, are essentially alike and consist of an open basket or boxes of veneer holding about 10 pounds of fruit. When shipped, two, four or six of these are packed in crates made of thin boards, so as to protect the fruits but give them plenty of air.
Packing.—Most of the fruit sent to New York and Philadelphia markets from New Jersey and other northern states is in boxes or crates holding about 5/8 of a bushel and so made as to facilitate ventilation when piled in cars or warehouses. Fruit for the canneries is usually picked and handled in bushel crates of lath. These various packages are usually sold in the flat and the grower puts them together as is convenient before the crop comes on; but in many sections where there are large shipments they are often put together by the package dealers. Fig. 30 shows tomatoes as packed by the Ohio experiment station.
Fruits after frost.—Sometimes when there is a great quantity of partially ripe and full grown green fruit on the vines which is liable to be spoiled by an early fall frost, it can be saved by pulling the vines and placing them in windrows and covering them with straw. Of course the vines should be handled carefully to shake off as little fruit as possible. If the freeze is followed by a spell of warm, dry weather the fruit will ripen up so as to be quite equal to that shipped in from a distance. A second plan is to pull the vines and hang them up in a dry cellar or out-house, or lay them on the ground in an open grove of trees, or beneath the trees of an adjoining orchard.
Still another plan is to gather the green fruit and spread it not more than two to four fruits deep in hotbed frames, which are then covered with sash. Local grocers are usually glad to pay good prices for this late fruit, and in seasons of scarcity I have known canners to buy thousands of bushels so ripened at better prices than they paid for the main crop.
CHAPTER XV
Adaptation of Varieties
Whatever may be their botanical origin, the modern varieties of cultivated tomatoes vary greatly in many respects, and while these differences are always of importance their relative importance differs with conditions. When the great desideratum is the largest possible yield of salable fruit at the least expenditure of labor, the qualities of the vine may be the most important ones to be considered, while in private gardens and for a critical home market and where closer attention and better cultivation can be given, they may be of far less importance than qualities of fruit.
Habits of growth.—Whether it be standard or dwarf, compact or spreading, is sometimes of great importance as fitting the sorts for certain soils and methods of culture. On heavy, moist, rich land, where staking and pruning are essential to the production of fruit of the best quality, it is of importance that we use sorts whose habits of growth fit them for it; while on warm, sandy, well-drained land, staking and pruning may be of little value, and a different habit of growth more desirable. We have sorts in which the vine is relatively strong growing with few branches, upright, with long nodes and small fruit clusters well scattered over the vine. They are usually very productive through a long season but generally late in maturing. Stocks of this type are sometimes sold, I think improperly, as giant climbing, or Tree tomato. The Buckeye State is a good type of these sorts. (Fig. 31.)
Other varieties make a stout and vigorous but shorter growth, with more and heavier branches, shorter nodes and many small medium-sized clusters of fruit well distributed over the plant and which mature through a fairly long season. These sorts are usually very productive and our most popular varieties generally belong to this type, of which the Stone (Fig. 32) is a good representative of the more compact and the Beauty of the more open growing.
Other varieties form many short, weak, sprawling branches, with usually large and sometimes very large clusters of fruit produced chiefly near the center of the plant and which mature early and all together. Plants of this type will often mature their entire crop and die by the time those of the first type have come into full crop. The Atlantic Prize (Fig. 33) and Sparks Earliana are examples of this type.
In sharp contrast with the above is the tomato De Laye, often called Tree tomato. This originated about 1862 in a garden at Chateau de Laye, France. In this the plant rarely exceeds 18 inches in hight, is single-stemmed or with few very short branches, the nodes very short, the fruit clusters few and small. From this, by crossing with other types, there has been developed a distinct class of dwarf tomatoes which are of intermediate form and character and are well represented by the Dwarf Champion (Fig. 34). Early maturity is sometimes the most important consideration of all, though, because of increasing facilities for shipping from the South, it is less commonly so than formerly. For shipping and canning it is generally, though not always, desirable that the crop mature as nearly together as possible, that it may be gathered with the fewest number of pickings and advantage taken of a favorable market; while for the home garden and market a longer season is desirable.
Foliage.—Abundant, broad and close, or scanty cut and open foliage is sometimes of importance, according to whether the location, season and other conditions make it desirable that the foliage protect the fruit from the sun or admit the sunlight, with as little obstruction as possible, to the center of the plant. In different sorts, we have gradations from those in which the leaves are so deeply cut as to have a fern-like appearance, to those like the Magnus, or potato-leaved, in which the margin of each leaflet is entire, and from those in which the leaflets are so few and small as to scarcely shut out the light at all to those in which they are so numerous that the light can hardly penetrate to the center of the plant. The Atlantic Prize is an illustration of the scanty foliaged sorts, and the Royal Red or Buckeye State of those in which it is more abundant. As to color, the foliage varies from the dark blue-green of the Buckeye State to the light, distinctly yellowish-green of the Honor Bright.
Varietal differences as to fruit.—These are often more important than those of vine. For canning, for forcing, and some other uses and for certain markets, a medium and uniform size is a very important quality, while in other cases uniformity is not important and the larger the individual fruits, provided they be well formed, the better. We have different sorts in which the size of the fruit varies from that of the Currant, which is scarcely 1 inch in circumference, to that of Ponderosa, of which well-formed specimens over 20 inches in circumference have been grown.
Shape.—It is always desirable that the outline of the vertical section shall be a flowing line with a broad and shallow, or no depression at the stem end and as little as possible at the opposite point; but the relative importance of this, or whether the general outline shall be round or oval, either vertically or horizontally, forming a round, long or flat fruit, is largely determined by how the fruit is to be used, and by individual taste. A round fruit is best for canning; a long one is the most economical for slicing, though some prefer a flat one for this purpose. It is always desirable that the outline of the horizontal section shall be smooth, flowing and symmetrical, and if there be any distinct sutures that they shall be shallow and broad; but the relative importance of this, and whether the outline be round or oval, is wholly a matter of individual taste. Some people and markets prefer one shape and others a very different one. Size and smoothness of fruit are the factors which control price in some markets, while in others these points are quite secondary to color and character of flesh.
We have sorts which vary from the perfectly spherical ones of the grape and cherry, to those in which the vertical diameter is less than a third of that of the horizontal section; and the pear-shaped in which the vertical diameter is twice or thrice that of the longest horizontal section, and from those in which the outline of both the vertical and horizontal sections is smooth and flowing to those in which the vertical section has a deep indentation at both the stem and opposite ends, and those in which the horizontal section is broken by deep indentures and sutures often disposed with great irregularity.
For shipping long distances, for the rough handling, and for the easy preparation for the fruit for canning, a thick, tough skin is desirable, while for home use it is objectionable. Freedom from blemish or skin crack is also often an important quality, and we have sorts which vary greatly in these respects. The color of the skin, whether purple, red, yellow or white, is a matter of taste. In some markets the choice is given to purple fruit, like the Beauty, while in others it can only be sold at a reduced price. There are few who would care to use either yellow or white fruit for canning or cooking in any way, but many prefer them for slicing, or like to use them with the red for this purpose; we have sorts showing every gradation from white or light yellow in color through shades of red to dark purple-red, and still others which show distinct colors in splashings and shadings.
Character of flesh.—Many consider that the greater the number of cells and the larger the proportion of flesh to that of pulp and seed the better. This may be true of itself, but the fruit-like acid tomato flavor which most people value is found chiefly in the pulp, and the fruit which has not a due proportion of pulp and flesh seems to be insipid and tasteless. Again, the division into many small cells is often connected with a large and pithy placenta and unevenness in maturity and coloring, which faults often more than overbalance any advantage from small cells and thick flesh. The size and character of the placenta are important qualities.
In some sorts it is large, dry, pithy and hard, extending far into the fruit even to below the center; and sometimes seems to divide into secondary or branch placentas or masses of hard cellular matter, while in other varieties it is small and so soft and juicy as scarcely to be distinguished from the flesh. Usually, but not invariably, the large and pithy placenta is correlated with large-sized fruit having many cells; where this is the case it practically necessitates the cutting away and wasting of a large proportion of the fruit in preparing it for canning, so that the canners usually prefer round, medium-sized fruits.
The character of the interior of the fruit varies greatly in different varieties. Both the exterior and divisional walls vary in thickness and in consistency. In some varieties they are comparatively thin, hard and dry; in others, thicker, softer and more juicy. In some cases there is but little interior wall, the fruit being divided into but few—even but two—cells of even size and shape, while in others there are many cells of varying size and shape. Varieties also differ greatly as to the amount, consistency and flavor of the pulp and the number of seeds. It requires from 300 to 500 pounds of ripe fruit to furnish a pound of seed of Ponderosa, while with some of the smaller, earlier sorts one can get a pound of seed from 100 to 200 pounds of fruit.
Coloring and ripening.—Uniformity and evenness in coloring and ripening are an important quality. Tomatoes generally color and ripen from within outward, and from the point opposite the stem upward, but varieties differ in the evenness and rapidity with which this takes place. It is always desirable that the ripening be as even as possible and that there be no green and hard spots either at the surface or in the flesh, but often perfection in this respect is correlated with such lack of size and solidity as to counterbalance it. Rapidity in ripening, in a general way, is desirable for fruit to be used at home, and undesirable in that which is to be shipped.
The time a tomato fruit will remain in usable condition and the amount of rough handling it will endure without becoming unsalable are most important commercial qualities depending largely upon the combined effects of the form and structure of the fruit, solidity and firmness of the flesh and ripening habit. In all these respects we have varieties which differ greatly, from the Honor Bright, which requires as much time to ripen, and when ripe is firm-fleshed and will remain usable as long as a peach, to those which 24 hours after reaching their full size are fully colored and ripe, and in 24 hours more are so over-ripe and soft that they will break open of their own weight.
These are only some of the varietal differences of the tomato. Are such differences of practical importance? I think they are, and that a wise selection of the type best suited to one's own particular conditions and requirements is one of the most essential requisites of satisfactory tomato culture. How important it seems to practical tomato growers may be illustrated by an actual case.
In a certain section of New Jersey the money-making crop is early tomatoes, and they are grown to such an extent that from an area with a radius of not exceeding 5 miles they have shipped as much as 15,000 bushels in one day, and the shipments will often average 8,000 bushels for days together. They have tried a great number of sorts, but have settled upon a certain type of a well-known variety as that best suited to their conditions and needs. Seeds of this variety which are supposed to produce plants of the exact type wanted can be bought from seedsmen for 10 cents an ounce and at much lower rates for larger quantities, but when one of the most successful growers of that locality, because of change of occupation, offered seed selected by him for his own use for sale at auction, it brought $3 an ounce. This price was paid because of the confidence of the bidders that the seed could be depended upon to produce plants of the exact type wanted for their conditions; and I was assured that the use of this high-priced seed actually added very largely to the profits from every field in that vicinity in which it was used, but the use of some of the same lot of seed by planters in Florida resulted in financial loss because the type of plant produced was not suited to their conditions and requirements.
A wise answer can only be given after a study of each case, and no one can do this so well as the planter himself. He should know, as no one else can know, his own conditions and requirements, and should be able to form very exact ideas of just what he wants, and the doing so is, in my opinion, one of the most important requisites for satisfactory tomato growing. I also believe that it is as impossible for a man to answer offhand the question, "What is the best variety of tomato?" as for a wise physician to answer the question, "What is the best medicine?"
Varietal names and descriptions mean something quite different in the case of plants like the tomato, which are propagated by seed, from what they do with plants like the apple and strawberry, which are propagated by division. In the latter case all the plants of the variety are but parts of the primal origination, and so are alike. A description is simply a more or less complete and accurate definition of what a certain immutable thing really is, but in the case of plants propagated by seed the variety is made up of all the plants which accord with a certain ideal. Bailey says, "Of all those which have more points of resemblance than of difference," and a description of the variety is of that ideal which in common practice is not fixed, but may and generally does vary not only with different people but from time to time. The only foundation for varietal names in plants of this class is an agreement as to the ideal the name shall stand for. Under modern horticultural practice when anyone has been able to secure seed most of which he is reasonably sure will develop into plants of a distinct type different from that of any sort known to him, he has a distinct variety, so that it is not surprising that we should find that American seedsmen offer tomato seed under more than 300 different names, and those of Europe under more than 200 additional, so that we have more than 500 varietal names, each claiming to stand for a distinct sort. Now it is quite possible—indeed, it is certain—that we might have 500 tomato plants each different in some respect, either of vine, leaf, habit of growth, or character of fruit, from any of the others and that these differences might make plants of one type better suited to certain conditions and uses than any other; but it is very certain that these 500 names do not stand for such differences. It is doubtless true that a portion—though I think but a small portion—of these different sorts exist simply as a matter of commercial expediency; but by far a greater part of them exist because one has found that plants of a certain character were better suited to some set of conditions and requirements than any sort with which he was acquainted, and having secured seed which he thought would produce plants of that character, has offered it as of a distinct sort.
It is probable that a better acquaintance with sorts already in cultivation would have prevented the naming of many of these stocks as distinct varieties. What is of far more practical importance, the same name does not always stand for precisely the same type with different seedsmen, or even with the same seedsmen in different years; nor are the seedsmen's published descriptions such as would enable any one to learn from them just what type he will receive under any particular name, or which sort he should buy in order to get plants of any desired type. Seedsmen's catalogs are published and distributed gratuitously at great expense, and are issued, primarily, for the sake of selling the seeds they offer. They answer the purpose for which they are designed, in proportion as they secure orders for seeds. Will this be measured by the accuracy and completeness of their descriptions? I think that it needs but slight acquaintance with the actual results of advertising to answer in the negative, and whatever your answer may be, the answer given by the catalogs themselves is an emphatic no.
In a recent case I looked very carefully through the catalogs of 125 American seedsmen who listed a certain variety which is very markedly deficient in a certain desirable quality, and found that but 37 of the 125 mentioned the quality in connection with the variety at all and of these but 7 admitted the deficiency, while 30 told the opposite of the truth. Even if a complete, exact and reliable description of a variety was published by disinterested persons, one could not be sure of getting seed from seedsmen which would produce plants of that exact type, since there is no agreement or uniformity among them as to the exact type any varietal name shall stand for.
One way of getting seed of the exact type wanted is to do as the South Jersey growers did: go to work and breed up a stock which is uniformly of the type wanted; but this involves more painstaking care than many are willing to give, though I think not more than it would be most profitable for them to expend for the sake of getting seed just suited to their needs.
A second and easier way is to secure samples of the most promising sorts and from the most reliable sources and grow them on one's own farm; select the stock which seems best for him and buy enough of that exact stock for several years' planting, and in the meantime be looking for a still better one. Tomato seed stored in a cool, dry place will retain its vitality for from three to seven years.
CHAPTER XVI
Seed Breeding and Growing
The potentialities of every plant and its limitations are inherent, fixed and immutable in the seed from which it is developed and are made up of the balanced sum of the different tendencies it receives in varying degree from each of its ancestors back for an indefinite number of generations. A very slight difference in the character or the degree of any one of the tendencies which go to make up this sum may make a most material difference in the balance and so in the resulting character of the plant produced. Different plants, even of the same ancestry, vary greatly in prepotency or in the relative dominance of the influence they have over descendants raised from seed produced by them.
In some cases all the plants raised from seed produced by a certain plant will be essentially alike and closely resemble the seed-bearing plant, while seed from another plant of the same parentage will develop into plants differing from each other and seemingly more influenced by some distant ancestor or by varying combinations of such influences than of those of the plant which actually produced the seed from which they were developed. Successful seed breeding can only be accomplished by taking advantage of these principles of heredity and variation, and by a wise use of them it is possible to produce seed which can be depended upon to produce plants of any type possible to the species.
The first essential for breeding is to have a clear and exact conception of precisely what, in all respects, the type shall be and then the securing of seed which has come from plants of that exact character for the greatest possible number of generations, carefully avoiding the introduction by cross-pollination of tendencies from plants differing in any degree from the desired type. Secondly, seed should be used from plants which have been proven to produce seed, which will develop into plants like themselves or are strongly prepotent. A practical way to accomplish this in the tomato is as follows:
By experiment and observation form a very clear conception of precisely the type of plant and fruits which is best suited to your needs. This may be done by the study of available descriptions of sorts, by conference with those who have had experience in your own or similar climatic and soil conditions and in raising fruit for the same purposes and, best of all, by trials of samples of different sorts and stocks on your own grounds. Having formed such a conception, write out the clearest possible description of exactly what you want and the ideal plant you are aiming at, stating as fully and minutely as possible every desirable quality and also those to be avoided. I consider not only the formation of an exact ideal, but the writing out of a most minute and exact description of precisely what in every particular the ideal plant should be and the rigid adherence to that exact ideal in selection, as the most important elements of successful seed breeding. Without it one is certain to vary from year to year in the type selected and in just so far as he does this, even if it be toward what might be called improvements or in regard to an unimportant quality, he undermines all his work and makes it impossible to establish a strain which can be relied upon to produce an exact type.
With this description in hand, search out one or more plants which seem the nearest to the ideal. In doing this it should be kept in mind that the character of the seed is determined by the plant rather than by the individual fruit. Therefore, a plant whose fruit is most uniformly of the desired type should be chosen over one having a small proportion of its fruits of very perfect type, the others being different and variable. Save seed from one or more fruits from each of the selected plants, keeping that from each fruit, or at least each plant, separate. Give it a number and make a record of how nearly, in each particular, the plant and fruit of each number come to the desired ideal. I regard the saving of each lot separately and recording its characters as very important, even when all have been selected to and come equally close to precisely the same ideal. Quite often the seed of one plant will produce plants precisely like it, while that of another, equal or superior, will produce plants of which no two are alike and none like that which produced the seed, so that often the mixing of seed from different plants of the same general type, and seemingly of equal quality, prevents the establishment of a uniform type.
The next year from 10 to 100 plants raised from each lot are set in blocks and labeled. As they develop the blocks are studied and compared with the original description of the desired type and that of each plant from which seed was saved, and the block selected in which all the plants come the nearest to the desired type, and which show the least variation. From it plants are selected in the same way and to the same type as the previous year. It is better to make selections from such a block than to take the most superior plants from all of the blocks, or from one which produced but one or but a few superlative ones, the rest being variable.
It is also well to consider the relative importance of different qualities in connection with the degree to which the different lots approach the ideal in these respects. Such a course of selection intelligently and carefully carried out will give, in from three to five years, strains of seed greatly superior and better adapted to one's own conditions than any which it is possible to purchase. A single or but a very few selections may be made each year, and the superior value of the seed of the remainder of the seed blocks for use in the field will be far more than the cost of the whole work.
Growing and saving commercial seed.—The ideal way is for the seedsman to grow and select seed as described above and give this stock seed to farmers who plant in fields and cultivate it, much as is recommended for canning, and save seed from the entire crop, the pulp being thrown away. Only a few pickings are necessary and the seed is separated by machines worked by horse power at small cost, often not exceeding 10 cents a pound. They secure from 75 to 250 pounds per acre, according to the variety and crop, and the seedsmen pay them 40 cents to $1 a pound for it. Some of our more careful seedsmen produce all the seed they use in this way; others buy of professional seed growers, who use more or less carefully grown stock seed. In other cases when the fruit is fully ripe it is gathered, and the seeds, pulp and skins, are separated by machinery; the seed is sold to seedsmen, the pulp made into catsup, and only the skins are thrown away. Still others get their supply by washing out and saving the seed from the waste of canneries. Such seed is just as good as seed saved from the same grade of tomatoes in any other way, but the fruit used by the canneries is, usually, a mixture of different crops and grades, and even of different varieties, and consequently the seed is mixed and entirely lacking in uniformity and distinctness of type.
Generally from 5 to 20 per cent. of the plants produced by seed as commonly grown either by the farmer himself or the seedsmen, though they may be alike in more conspicuous characteristics, will show varietal differences of such importance as to affect more or less materially the value of the plant for the conditions and the purposes for which it is grown. In a book like this it is useless to attempt to give long varietal descriptions even of the sorts commonly listed by seedsmen, since such descriptions would be more a statement of what the writer thought seed of that variety should be rather than of what one would be likely to receive under that name.
CHAPTER XVII
Production for Canning
Growing for canning has many advantages over growing for market. Some of these are that it is not necessary to start the plants so early, that they can be grown at less cost, and set in the field when smaller and with less check, and on this latter account are apt to give a large yield. It is not necessary to gather the fruit so often, nor to handle it so carefully, while practically all of it is saleable. For these reasons the cost of production is lower and it is less variable than with crops grown for market. Still farmers and writers do not agree at all as to the actual cost. It is claimed by some that where the factory is within easy reach of the field the cost of growing, gathering and delivering a full yield of tomatoes need not exceed $12 to $18 an acre, while others declare they cannot be grown for less than $40. Nearly one-third of this cost is for picking and delivering, and varies more with the facilities for doing this easily and promptly and with the yield than with crops grown for market. A large proportion of the crops grown for canning are poorly cultivated and unwisely handled, so that the average yield throughout the entire country is very low, hardly exceeding 100 bushels an acre. But where weather and other conditions are favorable, and with judicious cultivation, a yield of 300 to 800 bushels an acre can be expected. I have known of many larger ones.
A large proportion of the tomatoes grown for canning are planted under contract, by which the farmer agrees to deliver the entire yield of fruit fit for canning, which may be produced on a given area, at the contract price per bushel or ton. The canner is to judge what fruit is fit for canning and this often results in great dissatisfaction. To the grower it seems in many cases as though the quantity of acceptable fruit paid for was determined quite as much by the abundance or scarcity of the general crop as by the weight hauled to the factory. The prices paid by the factories for the past 10 years run from 10 to 25 cents a bushel, while canning tomatoes in the open market for the same period have brought from 8 to 50 cents a bushel, which, however, are exceptional prices. In all but two of the past 10 years uncontracted tomatoes could generally be sold, in most sections, for more than was paid on contract. I have given the price a bushel, though canning tomatoes are usually sold by the ton. The cost of the product of a well-equipped cannery is divided about as follows: fruit, 30 per cent.; handling, preparing and processing the fruit, 18 per cent.; cost of cans, labels, cases, etc., 43 per cent.; labeling, packing and selling, 0.035 per cent.; incidentals, 0.055 per cent.
Canning on the farm.—While as a general proposition such work as canning tomatoes can usually be done at less cost in a central plant, yet in many cases the grower can profitably do this on the farm, thus saving not only the expense of delivery at the factory, but the dissatisfaction with weights credited and delays in receiving the fruit. But very little special apparatus or machinery (more than some form of boiler for supplying steam) is needed, and this and the cans can be readily obtained of dealers in canners' supplies. In Maryland and neighboring states many dealers furnish all necessary machinery, cans and other requisites and contract for the crop delivered in cans.
Canning on the farm where the fruit is grown would be more generally practiced except for the popular demand that the canned product shall be brighter colored than it is possible to produce from fruit alone, and the necessary dyeing and other doctoring can be more easily and skilfully done at a central factory, though it is always at the sacrifice of flavor and healthfulness for the sake of appearance. Another advantage of canning on the farm is that it can be done with less waste of fruit. The hauling to the factory and delay in working the fruit result in a great deal of waste. The average cannery does not obtain more than 1,200 pounds of product from a ton of fruit, there being 800 pounds of waste, while with sound, ripe, perfectly fresh fruit, it is entirely practical to secure from 1,600 to 1,800 pounds of canned goods from a ton, and this saving in waste would more than counterbalance the gain from the use of the better machinery possible in the factory.
The process of canning is simple and consists first of rinsing off the fruit, then in wire baskets or pails dipping it into boiling hot water to start the skins, which will require but two to four minutes. While they are still hot they should be peeled and imperfections cut out, then promptly placed in the cans, which should be fully filled; it is well to do this by adding the juice which has escaped while peeling, instead of water, as is done in the larger factories. This will give the canned fruit better color and lessen the need of dye. Place in a hot box for three to five minutes until heated through, wipe top of can clean and drop perforated cap in place, add flux and solder, seal cap in place with round capper, close perforation in cap with drop of solder. Place in box or kettle and steam or boil for 20 to 40 minutes. If the tomatoes were all ripe and none over-ripe, and have been kept hot from the time they went into the scalding kettle until the sealed cans are in the kettle, 20 minutes' cooking will make them surer to keep than 40 minutes would with fruit such as is commonly received at factories, or that which has been allowed to cool once or twice while in process.
CHAPTER XVIII
Cost of Production
There are a few vegetables or fruits where the cost of production and the price received are more variable than with the tomato. The cost per acre for raising the fruit varies with the conditions of soil, facilities for doing the work economically and with the season, while that of marketing the product varies still more. Under usual conditions, the growing of an acre of tomatoes and the gathering and marketing of the fruit will cost from $18 to $90, of which from 15 to 40 per cent. is spent in fertilizing and preparing the ground, 5 to 10 per cent. for plants, 20 to 30 per cent. for cultivation, and 25 to 40 per cent. for gathering and handling the fruit. The last item, of course, varies somewhat with, but not in proportion to, the amount of the crop, as it costs proportionately less to gather a large than a small crop, and for canners' use than for market.
The expense of shipping and marketing the crop varies so greatly according to the conditions and methods that I do not attempt to state the amount. The total yield of fruit runs from 200 to 600 or 700 bushels to the acre, a 200-bushel crop of tomatoes comparing as to amount with one of 25 bushels of wheat and a 700-bushel crop of tomatoes with one of 60 bushels of wheat; with the best and wisest cultivation and under the most favorable conditions one can as reasonably hope for one as for the other. Of this total yield, from 10 to 25 per cent. of the fruit should be such as, because of earliness and quality, can be sold as extras, and there is usually from 5 to 10 per cent., and sometimes a much larger per cent., which should be rejected as unsalable. The selected fruit should net from $1 to $5 a bushel, the common from 30 to 75 cents—making the returns for a 200-bushel yield well sold in a nearby market $70 to $350, and proportionately larger, for a better yield. In practice I have known of crops which gave a profit above expenses of over $1,000 an acre. This came, however, from exceptionally favorable conditions and skilled marketing, and I have known of many more crops where, though the fruit was equally large and well grown, the profit was less than $100.
In this country a greenhouse is seldom used solely for the growing of tomatoes, but other crops—such as lettuce—are grown in connection with the tomatoes, so that it is impracticable to give the cost of production. As grown at the Ohio state experiment station—and the crop ripened in late spring or early summer and sold on the market of smaller cities—greenhouse tomatoes have yielded about two pounds a square foot of glass and brought an average price of 12 cents per pound. In other cases yields as high as 10 pounds a foot of glass and an average price of 40 cents a pound have been reported.
CHAPTER XIX
Insects Injurious to the Tomato
By DR. F. H. CHITTENDEN Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agriculture
From the time tomato plants are set in the field until the fruit has ripened they are subject to the attacks of insects which frequently cause serious injury. On the whole, however, the tomato is not so susceptible to damage as are some related crops—such as the potato.
Cutworms.—Of insects most to be feared and of those which attack the plants when they are first set out are cutworms of various species. The grower is as a rule quite too familiar with these insects, and no description of their methods is necessary, beyond the statement that they cut off and destroy more than they eat and re-setting is frequently necessary. The best remedy is a poisoned bait, prepared by dipping bunches of clover, weeds, or other vegetation in a solution of Paris green or other arsenical, 1 pound to 100 gallons of water. These baits are distributed in small lots over the ground before the plants are set, the precaution being observed that the land is free for two or three weeks from any form of vegetation. This will force the hungry "worms" to feed on the baits, to their prompt destruction. A bran-mash is also used instead of weeds or clover, and is prepared by combining one part by weight of arsenic, one of sugar, and six of sweetened bran, with enough water added to make a mash. The baits are renewed if they become too dry, or they can be kept moist by placing them under shingles or pieces of board.
Flea-beetles attack the plants soon after they are set, and their injuries can be prevented by dipping the young plants before setting in a solution of arsenate of lead, about 1 pound to 50 gallons of water, or Paris green, 1 pound to 100 gallons. If this precaution has not been observed a spray of either of these arsenicals used in the proportion specified will suffice, repeating if the insects continue on the plants. In the preparation of the spray a pound of fresh lime to each pound of the arsenical should be added; or, better yet, Bordeaux mixture should be employed as a diluent instead of water. This mixture has some insecticidal value, is a most valuable fungicide, and is also a powerful deterrent of flea-beetle attack, acting to a less degree against other insects which are apt to be found on the tomato. In applying any spray a sprayer costing not less than $7 is a positive necessity.
The Colorado potato beetle, or "potato bug," sometimes injures tomatoes, but not as a rule when potatoes are available. This suggests the use of potatoes as a trap crop, planted in about three rows completely around the field of tomatoes. The arsenicals used in the same proportion as for flea-beetles will destroy the potato beetle. It is necessary to keep the trap potatoes well sprayed to prevent them from breeding on these plants and migrating to the tomatoes. Potato beetles can also be controlled by jarring them from the affected plants into large pans containing a little water on which a thin scum of kerosene is floating.
Blister beetles may be controlled, under ordinary circumstances, by the same method employed against the Colorado beetle. When they are present in great numbers a good remedy consists in driving them with the wind from the cultivated fields into windrows of straw or similar dry material previously prepared along the leeward side of the field, where they will congregate and can be burned.
The tomato worms, of which there are two common species closely resembling each other, are often abundant and destructive on tomato foliage, particularly southward. The arsenicals will kill them, or they can be held in check by hand-picking, a little experience enabling one to detect their presence readily. Turkeys are utilized in destroying these worms in the South.
The stalk-borer, as its name implies, attacks the stalk, and is an intermittent pest, though quite annoying at times. It is difficult to combat, but its injuries may be prevented by care in keeping down, and by promptly destroying, the weeds after they are pulled or hoed out during the growing season. If weeds are left to dry the striped caterpillar of this species will desert them and enter cultivated plants. Ragweed and burdock are the principal foods of this insect, and special attention should be given to eradicate them where tomatoes are planted. Crop rotation is advisable where this can be conveniently practiced, and such plants as cabbage, radish and the like, onions, beets, asparagus and celery are suggested as alternates. When the plants are sprayed with arsenicals for other insects this will operate to a certain extent against the stalk-borer.
The tomato fruit worm (Fig. 40) known as the bollworm of cotton and the ear worm of corn, is frequently the cause of serious trouble to tomato growers, especially in the southern states, due to its pernicious habit of eating into and destroying the green and ripening fruit. For its control it is advisable not to plant tomatoes in proximity to old corn or cotton fields, nor should land be used in regions where this species is abundant until it has been fall or winter plowed. Sweet corn planted about the field before the tomatoes are set will serve as a lure for the parent moths to deposit their eggs, corn and cotton being favorite foods of this species and preferred to tomatoes. The fruit worm feeds to a certain extent on the foliage before penetrating the fruit, and it is possible to keep it in subjection by spraying with arsenicals as advised for the flea-beetles. It is suggested that arsenate of lead, being more adhesive than other arsenicals, should be used for the first sprayings, beginning when the fruit commences to form, repeating once or twice as found necessary, and making a last spraying with Paris green within a few days of ripening. This last poison will readily wash off and there is no danger whatever of poisoning to human beings, as has been conclusively proved in numerous similar cases. For the perfect success of this remedy the last spraying is essential, as those who have sprayed with an arsenical and have reported only partial good results have discontinued within about two weeks of the time of the ripening of the first fruit.
White fly or aleyrodes.—These minute insects are familiar to most growers who raise tomatoes under glass. They can be held in control by vaporization or fumigation with tobacco or nicotine extracts, or by spraying with kerosene emulsion or the so-called whale-oil (fish-oil) soap. Care is necessary in using the extracts that the smudge does not become too dense and injure the plants. Before applying this remedy on a large scale a preliminary trial should be made following the directions on the packages, and reducing the amount if any ill results follow. Hydrocyanic acid gas, properly used, is also an excellent remedy for aleyrodes, aphides, "mealy-bug," and other soft-bodied insects which are sometimes troublesome on greenhouse tomatoes.
For a complete account of the methods of making and handling hydrocyanic acid gas, see Professor Johnson's book entitled "Fumigation Methods," published by Orange Judd Company, of New York. Sent postpaid for $1.—[AUTHOR.
CHAPTER XX
Tomato Diseases
By W. A. ORTON U. S. Department of Agriculture
DISEASES NOT CAUSED BY FUNGI OR INSECTS
The health of tomato plants is to a large extent dependent on the conditions under which they are being grown. The character and physical condition of the soil, the supply of water and plant food, the temperature and amount of sunlight, are all factors of the greatest importance in the growth and development of the crop. When there are variations from the normal in the case of any of these the plant adapts itself to the change as far as possible, but its functions may be so disturbed as to result in ill health or disease. It is in many cases difficult to draw a line between a natural re-action of the plant to its environment and a state of disease. For example, the trouble described in the next paragraph seems to fall into the first class.
Shedding of blossoms.—The tomato is very liable to drop its buds and blossoms and in some instances partial or total crop failures have resulted. The principal causes are an over-rapid growth, due in many cases to an excess of nitrogenous fertilizers, unfavorable weather conditions, especially cold winds, continued rainy or moist weather, which hinders pollination, lack of sunlight, or extremely hot weather. Such shedding can be partially controlled by pruning away the lateral branches as soon as formed and topping the plants after the third cluster of fruit has set, and by a reduction in the use of nitrogenous fertilizers. A failure to set fruit in the greenhouse is often due to lack of pollination, which must be remedied by hand pollination.
Cracking of the fruit.—The formation of cracks or fissures in the nearly mature fruit is due to variations in the water supply and other conditions affecting growth at this stage. If after the development of the outer portion of the fruit has been checked by drought there follows a period of abundant water supply and rapid growth, the fruit expands more rapidly than its epidermis and the latter is ruptured. Some varieties of tomatoes are much less subject to this trouble than others and should be given preference on this account. The grower, so far as lies in his power, should seek to maintain an uninterrupted growth by thorough preparation of the land, by cultivation or by mulching. If the half-grown fruits are enclosed in paper bags, cracking may be prevented, but at the risk of loss of flavor in the ripened fruit.
Leaf curl.—The effect of pruning is to stimulate growth and to increase the size of the leaves, the effort of the plant being to maintain a balance between roots and foliage. With rapidly growing plants, especially in the greenhouse and garden where both high manuring and pruning have been practiced, more or less curling and distortion of the leaves may result without developing into serious trouble if the grower takes the hint and modifies his methods so as to permit a more balanced growth. On the other hand, the ill effects of over-feeding and pruning may reach a point where the plant is seriously crippled.
Edema.—Under certain conditions plants in greenhouses or even in the open field, may absorb water through the roots faster than it can be transpired through the leaves, with the result that dropsical swellings or blisters occur on the leaves and more succulent stems. There is also a deformation of the foliage, much like the leaf-curl produced by over-feeding. This trouble, known as edema, occurs when the soil is warmer than the air, or during periods of moist, warm, cloudy weather, which checks transpiration. The grower should cease pruning, and withhold water, and in the field cultivate deeply. In the greenhouse, adequate ventilation should be given, keeping the house dry rather than moist.
Mosaic disease.—The tomato is occasionally subject to a trouble allied to the mosaic disease of tobacco. It is characterized by a variegation of the leaves into light and dark green areas, usually accompanied by distortion and reduction in size. In severe cases a whole field may become worthless. While the nature of this malady is not fully understood, it is known to be due to a disordered nutrition of the young leaf-cells. It can be produced by severe pruning or by mutilation of the roots in transplanting, both of which should be carefully avoided. It is more likely to occur in seedlings that have made a soft, rapid growth on account of an excess of nitrogenous fertilizer or too high temperature. Close, clayey soils, on account of their poor physical condition, also favor the development of the disease after transplanting.
Western blight (Yellows).—In the North Pacific and Rocky Mountain states, serious losses are annually caused by a disease apparently unlike any eastern trouble. It is marked by a gradual yellowing of the foliage and fruit. Development is checked, the leaves curl upward and the plant dies without wilting. The nature and cause of this disease is as yet unknown. It appears to be worst on new land. Experiments that have been made indicate that in older cultivated fields thorough preparation of the soil, manuring and cultivation, combined with care in transplanting to avoid injuring the roots and checking growth, will greatly restrict the spread of this blight.
DISEASES CAUSED BY PARASITES
There are several fungous parasites of tomatoes, which, for the readers convenience, may be briefly mentioned and the treatment of all discussed together. The first three are indeed somewhat difficult to tell apart without a microscope, as they produce a similar effect on the leaves and all yield to the same treatment—thorough spraying with Bordeaux mixture.
Leaf spot (Septoria lycopersici Speg.) has been widely prevalent and injurious during recent years. It produces small, roundish dark-brown spots on leaves and stems. The lower leaves are attacked first and gradually curl up, die and fall off. The vitality of the plant is reduced and it is only kept alive by the young leaves formed at the top.
The fungus that causes early blight of potatoes (Alternaria solani (E. & M.) J. & G.) occurs on tomatoes also, sometimes doing much injury. The spots formed are at first small and black, later enlarging and exhibiting fine concentric rings.
A somewhat similar leaf-blight results from a species of Cylindrosporium, and other fungi may occur on diseased leaves.
Leaf mold (Cladosporium fulvum Cke.) is quite distinct from the foregoing in appearance. It does not cause such distinct spots but occurs in greenish brown, velvety patches of irregular outline on the under side of the leaves. The lower leaves are first attacked, and as the disease progresses they turn yellow and drop off. This is the principal fungous enemy of greenhouse tomatoes, but also does injury in gardens, particularly in Florida and the Gulf region. It is readily controlled by spraying. In the greenhouse care should be taken to ventilate well, without, however, allowing cold drafts to strike the plants.
Downy mildew (Phytopthora infestans DeBy.), the cause of the late blight of potatoes, will attack tomatoes during cool and very moist weather, which greatly favors its development. Such outbreaks sometimes occur to a limited extent in New England and serious losses are reported on the winter crop in southern California, but the disease has never been troublesome in other sections of the country, as it cannot develop in dry or hot weather. It affects the tomato as it does the potato, forming on the leaves dark, discolored spots, which spread rapidly under favorable conditions, killing the foliage in a few days. The fruit is also attacked and becomes covered with the mildew-like spore-bearing threads of the fungus. Bordeaux mixture properly applied is an efficient preventive.
Spraying tomatoes.—It should be the invariable practice of the tomato grower to spray with Bordeaux mixture to prevent injury from any of these leaf-blights. This should be done while the plants are still healthy, as if put off until the disease appears the battle is half lost. Make the first application to the young plants in the seed-bed a few days before transplanting. Spray again within a week after the plants are set in the field, and repeat at intervals of ten days or two weeks until the fruit is full grown. Success in spraying depends mainly on the thoroughness of the work. The aim should be to cover every leaf with a fine mist. Do not drench the foliage but pass to the next plant before the drops run together and off the leaf. Use a nozzle that gives a fine spray and maintain a high pressure at the pump.
Preparation of Bordeaux mixture.—Formula: Copper sulphate (bluestone), 5 pounds; lime, 5 pounds; and water, 50 gallons. The copper sulphate may be either in crystals or pulverized. Dissolve by suspending the required amount in a coarse sack near the top of the water a few hours before it will be needed. The lime must be fresh stone lime of good quality. Slake thoroughly by the addition of small quantities of water at a time as needed, stirring until all small lumps are slaked. Strain both the lime milk and the copper sulphate or bluestone solution through a brass strainer of 18 meshes per inch and dilute each with half the water before mixing together. Do not use Bordeaux left over from the previous day. An old mixture or one made from the concentrated solutions has a poor physical condition. It settles more quickly, tends to clog the nozzle and does not adhere so well to the foliage. Failure to use the strainer results in endless trouble in the field from clogged nozzles.
When much spraying is to be done it is more convenient to keep the bluestone and lime in separate permanent stock solutions, as shown in Fig. 42, containing 2 pounds to the gallon of their respective ingredients. These will keep indefinitely, if the water evaporated is replaced, and may be used from as needed.
Spraying apparatus.—Tomato growers having only a small area to spray may use one of the numerous forms of hand-pumps or bucket sprayers now on the market. For larger fields it will be necessary to employ a barrel sprayer. This consists of a hand-pump mounted in a barrel or tank and equipped with two leads of 3/8 inch hose 25 feet long, each with a four-foot, extension made from 1/4 inch gas pipe, and a double Vermorel nozzle. The barrel should be carried in an ordinary farm wagon. Three men do the work. One is expected to drive and pump, while the other two manipulate the nozzles. The outfit is stopped while the plants within reach are sprayed, then driven forward about 30 feet and stopped again. On an average in actual field practice 3 to 4 acres a day can be sprayed in this way, applying 100 to 200 gallons of Bordeaux per acre. To keep the long hose off the plants two poles about 10 feet long may be pivoted to the bed of the wagon so as to swing at an angle over the wheel and carry the hose. The pump for this outfit should be of good capacity, with brass valves. A "Y" shut-off discharge connection on the pump is a convenience for stopping the spray at any time. The most satisfactory nozzles are those of the Vermorel type. It is cheapest in the long run to buy the best grades of pumps on the market. This outfit is excellently adapted for spraying small fields of potatoes and for general orchard work, and is invaluable on the average farm.
Phytoptosis.—This disease is known to occur only in Florida, where it is sometimes common enough to require remedial treatment. The affected portions of the foliage are more or less distorted and covered with an ashy white fuzz. The general vigor and fruitfulness of the plants are greatly reduced. The name applied to this trouble denotes its cause, an extremely small mite (Phytoptus calacladophora Nal.), which by its presence on the leaves or stems so irritates them as to result in the abundant development of modified plant hairs, which shelter the mites and form the fuzzy covering characteristic of the disease. A remedy for phytoptosis is available in the sulphur compounds. The following one is particularly recommended by Prof. P. H. Rolfs, to whom our knowledge of the disease is due:
Preparation of sulphur spray.—Place 30 pounds of flowers of sulphur in a wooden tub large enough to hold 25 gallons. Wet the sulphur with 3 gallons of water, stir it to form a paste. Then add 20 pounds of 98 per cent. caustic soda (28 pounds should be used if the caustic soda is 70 per cent.) and mix it with the sulphur paste. In a few minutes it becomes very hot, turns brown, and becomes a liquid. Stir thoroughly and add enough water to make 20 gallons. Pour off from the sediment and keep the liquid as a stock solution in a tight barrel or keg. Of this solution use 4 quarts to 50 gallons of water. Apply with a spray pump whenever the disease appears, and repeat if required by its later reappearance. The use of dry sulphur is also recommended.
DISEASES OF THE FRUIT
Point-rot.—This trouble, called also "blossom-end rot," and "black-rot," occurs on the green fruit at various stages of development, as shown in Fig. 43. It begins at the blossom end as a sunken brown spot, which gradually enlarges until the fruit is rendered worthless. The decayed spot is often covered in its later stages by a dense black fungous growth (Alternaria fasciculata (C. & E.) J. & G. syn. Macrosporium tomato Cke.), formerly thought to be the cause of the rot, but now known to be merely a saprophyte. Point-rot sometimes occurs in greenhouses, but is more common in field culture. It is one of the most destructive diseases of the tomato, but its nature is not fully worked out, and a uniformly successful treatment is unknown. It has been thought to be due to bacterial invasion, but complete demonstrations of that fact have not yet been published. The physiological conditions of the plant appear to be important. The disease is worst in dry weather and light soils, where the moisture supply is insufficient, and irrigation is beneficial in such cases. Spraying does not control point-rot so far as present evidence goes.
Anthracnose—ripe-rot—(Colletotrichum phomoides (Sacc.) Chest.), is distinguished from the point-rot by the fact that it occurs mainly on ripe or nearly ripe fruits, producing a soft and rapid decay. Widespread losses from this cause are not common, but when a field becomes infected a considerable proportion of the crop within a limited area may be destroyed if humid or rainy weather prevails. Preventive measures only can be employed. These should consist in collecting and destroying diseased fruit and in staking and trimming the vines to admit light and air to dry out the foliage. Bordeaux mixture applied after the development of the disease would be of doubtful efficiency and would be objectionable on account of the sediment left on the ripe fruit.
DISEASES OF THE ROOT OR STEM
Damping off.—Young plants in seed-beds often perish suddenly from a rot of the stem at the surface of the ground. This occurs as a rule in dull, cloudy weather among plants kept at too high a temperature, crowded too closely in the beds or not sufficiently ventilated. Several kinds of fungi are capable of causing damping off, under such conditions.
Preventive measures are of the first importance. Since old soil is often full of fungous spores left by previous crops, it is the wisest plan to use sterilized soil for the seed-bed. When the young plants are growing, constant watchfulness is required to avoid conditions that will weaken the seedlings and favor the damping off fungi.
Watering and ventilation are the two points that require especial skill. Watering should be done at midday, to allow the beds to drain before night, and only enough water for the thorough moistening of the soil should be applied. Ventilation should be given every warm day as the temperature and sunshine will permit, but the plants must be protected from rain and cold winds. Work the surface of the soil to permit aeration and do not crowd the plants too closely in the beds. If damping off develops something can be done to check it by scattering a layer of dry, warm sand over the surface, and by spraying the bed thoroughly with weak Bordeaux or by applying dry sulphur and air-slaked lime.
Bacterial wilt (Bacterium solanacearum Erw. Sm.).—This disease, which also attacks potatoes and eggplants and some related weeds, is one of the most serious enemies of the tomato. It is known to occur from Connecticut southward to Florida and westward to Colorado, but is most prevalent in the Gulf States, where it has greatly discouraged many growers.
Its most prominent symptoms are the wilting of the foliage and a browning of the wood inside the recently wilted stems. An affected plant wilts first at the top, or a single branch wilts, but later the entire plant yellows, wilts and dies. Young plants wilt more suddenly and dry up. The disease progresses more rapidly in plants that have made a succulent, luxurious growth, while those with hard, woody stems resist it somewhat.
The disease is due to the invasion of bacteria, which enter the leaves through the aid of leaf-eating insects, or through the roots. They plug the water-carrying vessels of the stem, shutting off the water and food supply of the plant. If the stem of a plant freshly wilted from this disease be severed, the bacteria will ooze out in dirty white drops on the cut surface.
Remedial measures entirely satisfactory for the control of bacterial wilt have not yet been worked out. The best methods to adopt at present are the following:
(1) Rotation of crops.—The field evidence is that this disease is in many cases localized in old gardens or in definite spots in the field. It appears also that the infection left by a diseased crop can remain in the soil for some time. It is therefore advised that tomato growers should always practice a rotation of crops, whether any disease has appeared or not, and that in case bacterial wilt develops they should not plant that land in tomatoes, potatoes, or eggplants for three or four years. The length of rotation necessary to free the soil is not known, but will have to be worked out by the individual grower.
(2) Destruction of diseased plants.—The bacteria causing wilt not only spread through the soil but are carried by insects from freshly wilted to healthy plants. Diseased plants thus become dangerous sources of infection, and it is evident that all such should be pulled out and burned. This is particularly important at the beginning of the trouble when the eradication of a few wilting plants may save the remainder. |
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