Yield Performance of Twenty-Six Organic Tomato Cultivars Grown in Tennessee

Organic and heirloom tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) are high value products with favorable tastes for consumers. Tomato growers select cultivars based on yield resistance to insect pests and disease performance under local soil and climatic conditions. Current information regarding cultivar performance under organic, humid subtropical conditions in the United States remains insufficient. A variety trial of tomato was conducted in summer 2015 growing season at the certified organic farm of College of Agriculture, Nashville campus. Twenty four cultivars of tomato were grown in the open field under organic management practices as per National Organic Program (NOP) standards. The experimental design was randomized block design with three replications consisting of rows spaced 3’ apart with plants spaced 2’ between each plant within a row. Experimental plots were drip irrigated. Yields ranged from a high of 31.40 tons/hectare for hybrid `Arbason’ to a low of 3.88 tons/hectare for `Hillbilly’, which is an open pollinated, indeterminate cultivar. `Gold Nugget’ (28.18 tons/hectare) and Roma (27.19 tons/hectare) had the higher yields after `Arbason’. `Cherry Sweetie’ and `Bing Cherry’ were high in sugar content (7 °Bx). The study demonstrated that `Arbason’ was higher (42%) in yield in beefsteak type, `Gold Nugget’ produced higher yields (35%) in cherry type and `Roma’ produced higher yields (33%) among 26 varieties grown. No serious issue of insect pest and disease observed. Weeds were challenge in the organic field and kept minimum by manual or mechanical control. The preliminary results suggest some cultivars have high yield potential in organic management system.