April 2019 - 6

TOMATOES
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
strong enough to support all of that weight. "
A small sucker can be broken off, but larger
branches may need to be pruned.
Pruning is less critical in a horizontal
system. " You can grow an indeterminate
variety in a stake and weave without
pruning, " Maynard said.
Semi-determinate or determinate
varieties may also not need pruning -
regardless of the support system. " The
main stem terminates in a flower cluster
and that limits the size of the plant, "
Maynard said.
Start at the base and move up if
Purdue University's Liz Maynard discusses greenhouse tomato support systems. Photo: Tom Campbell/Purdue University
RAISING THE BAR
Carbonado Gold, the newest powdery mildew
tolerant Rupp pumpkin variety. It produces
gorgeous dark orange, round fruit, with a firmly
attached black handle that fills a 40 count bin.
CARBONADO GOLD
you do prune a semi-determinate or
determinate variety, but don't prune
above the first flower cluster. " The
amount of pruning has to be best
determined on an individual system, "
Maynard said.
The stake and weave support system
in Purdue's study was unpruned. The
suckers in the stake and string system
were pruned to leave two or more stems.
Production gains are seen in stake and
weave tomato support systems. Photo:
Gary Pullano
The yields in pounds of No. 1 and No.
2 fruit per plant in the study were up
to twice as high for the indeterminates
Big Beef and Cherokee Purple in a stake
and weave system compared to a stake
and string system. The determinate
Mountain Fresh also had a yield
advantage with stake and weave, but the
advantage was much smaller.
The stake and weave system also had
KICKOFF XR
Kickoff XR is a 69 day bi-color
from IFSI. It provides growers
with excellent eating quality in
an early maturing hybrid.
Kickoff XR has beautiful ear
with very good kernel contrast
and strong tip fill.
INDIAN ART RED FIRE
Indian Art Red Fire is a new
ornamental corn with deep red
kernels. This new Rupp variety
provides 8-10 " ears with a nice
red husk and stalk that make it a
unique item for fall displays.
FLAT STACKER
Flat Stacker is a perfect
white pumpkin for stacking.
This new pumpkin from
DP Seeds has an extremely
oblate shape with deep ribbing.
significantly less cull fruit, less farm
market grade and less cracked fruit for
Big Beef and Cherokee Purple, although
the advantages were much less or
insignificant for Mountain Fresh.
However, the stake and string
system - which was pruned - had
larger No. 1 and No. 2 fruit for Big
Beef and Mountain Fresh. There were
no significant differences in the size of
Cherokee Purple.
" In prune and string, we saw a larger
RAISING THE BAR
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average fruit size, " Maynard said. " The
system is a way to boost up your fruit
size if you aren't getting the size you
want. " The stake and string system also
had more potential early yield.
" The take-home message of this is
if even if you're going early, there's
still an advantage to stake and weave, "
Maynard said, " even though some say
a string system is easier to prune, and
easier to manage, because you can see
the tomatoes. But it gets to be a very
individual decision and determining
what's best for your farm. " VGN

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April 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2019