2019 ASHS Annual Conference

Delaware producers are looking for heirloom tomato varieties to attract more consumers to retail farm operations. In 2017/18, seven different heirloom varieties of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) were tested for production characteristics and fresh market suitability in Delaware. Tomato seedlings were transplanted into a well-drained loamy soil at the Outreach and Research Center of Delaware State University, DE. A completely randomized block design was used with three replicates for each variety. Each replicate consisted of 10 plants per variety. Row spacing was 1.2 m, and between row, spacing was 2.4 m. ‘, ‘Brandywine,’ ‘Big Red’, ‘Glacier,’ ‘Moskvich,’ ‘Roma,’ ‘Amish Paste,’ ‘Rose.’ Varieties were produced using plastic mulch beds and drip irrigation. ‘Roma’ served as a control. Plants were fertigated weekly using a balanced liquid supplement or nitrogen based on extension recommendations for Delaware. Tomatoes were harvested weekly (10 total harvests), and marketable fruits were separated from damaged one. Findings include: ‘Rose’ produced significantly greater total marketable yield by weight after Roma. Variety and year interaction were found significantly different due to the different amount of rain in the different year. When comparing total marketable yield, on an average, ‘Roma’ showed the highest yield (28800 kg/ha), followed by ‘Rose’ (28100 kg/ha), ‘Amish Paste’, (21600 kg/ha), ‘Big Red’ (20900 kg/ha), ‘Moskvich’ (20100 kg/ha), ‘Brandywine’ (18900 kg/ha) and ‘Glacier’ showed the lowest yield (18300 kg/ha). This trial showed that heirloom varieties could be a good source of income to producers and variable taste to consumers.