By Clint Thompson The U.S.-Mexico Tomato Suspension Agreement was officially terminated on Monday. The controversial agreement failed to stop Mexican tomato companies from dumping their product into the U.S. market. Its termination also led the Trump administration to impose a 17% antidumping duty on more than $1 billion of tomato imports from Mexico. The Commerce Department’s decision to terminate the …
Bacterial Spot Observed in Alabama Tomatoes
By Clint Thompson Alabama vegetable growers must be aware that bacterial spot disease has been observed in tomatoes in South Alabama. Ed Sikora, professor and Extension plant pathologist in the department of entomology and plant pathology at Auburn University, discussed the disease and its propensity to becoming widespread. “One (disease) I saw down in the Wiregrass is bacterial spot. It’s …
Specialty Crop Grower Magazine: Tomato Field Day Covered Wide Range of Production Topics
By Frank Giles In mid-May, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Gulf Coast Research and Education Center hosted a tomato field day to showcase research being conducted at the facility. The event was well attended, filling up several wagon loads of people who made their way through six field stops that focused on nematodes, tomato …
Florida Tomato Conference Slated for Sept. 4
By Clint Thompson Florida tomato growers can mark their calendars for Thursday, Sept. 4. The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and the Florida Tomato Committee will present this year’s Florida Tomato Conference at the Clewiston John Boy Auditorium in Clewiston, Florida. The program will start at 9 a.m. and conclude at 5 p.m. The Florida Tomato …
Specialty Crop Grower Magazine: Termination of Tomato Suspension Agreement a Victory
By Clint Thompson The termination of the United States-Mexico Tomato Suspension Agreement is a win for the domestic industry and should increase domestic production across the country. That’s the hope shared by Robert Guenther, executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Exchange. It was announced on April 14 that the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) terminated the 2019 United States-Mexico …
Sequencing the Genome: UF/IFAS Tomato Research Into Bacterial Spot
This is the second in a two-part series on the disease and UF/IFAS research. By Clint Thompson A research team led by plant pathologists with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) has found the pathogen that causes bacterial spot in tomatoes has multiple genetic variations. Gary Vallad, a plant pathology professor at the Gulf Coast …
Bacterial Spot’s Long Impact on Southeast Tomatoes
This is the first in a two-part series on the disease and UF/IFAS research. By Clint Thompson One tomato disease has long been a thorn in the side of producers throughout the Southeast. Gary Vallad, professor of plant pathology at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Gulf Coast Research and Education Center, discussed bacterial spot …
Tomato Field Day Shows Off Latest Research
In mid-May, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Gulf Coast Research and Education Center hosted a tomato field day to showcase research being conducted at the facility. The event was well attended, filling up several wagon loads of people who made their way through six field stops that focused on nematodes, tomato breeding, fertilizer recommendations, …
Eyeing More Profits: Alabama Tomato Farmer Modifying Business Operations
By Clint Thompson Low crop prices and high input expenses are forcing specialty crop producers to modify their farming operations. How business is done today is different than it was 20 years ago; maybe even 10 years ago. Alabama tomato grower Destiny Allman Gladden has to be more conscious of the business decisions she makes in hopes of improving her …
Florida’s Challenging Tomato Season Impacted By Hurricanes, Unfavorable Markets
By Clint Thompson One Florida tomato grower’s assessment of this year’s crop focused on the plethora of challenges that state’s producers had to contend with. Whether it was from hurricanes in the fall to unfavorable markets, the challenges were on multiple fronts and impacted production for Tony DiMare and other Florida producers. He discussed this year’s crop in an interview …