Tomato prices by size by low-end and high-end price.
Abstract
The increased adoption of conservation tillage and organic weed control practices in vegetable production requires more information on the role of various cover crops in integrated weed control, tomato quality, and yield. Two conservation-tillage systems utilizing crimson clover and cereal rye as winter cover crops were compared to a conventional black polythene mulch system, with or without organic weed management options, for weed control, tomato yield, and profitability. All cover crops were terminated with a mechanical roller/crimper prior to planting. Organic weed control treatments included: 1) flaming utilizing a one burner hand torch, 2) PRE application of corn gluten, 3) PRE application of corn gluten followed by flaming, or 4) intermittent hand weeding as needed. A non-treated control and a standard herbicide program were included for comparison. The herbicide program consisting of a PRE application of S-metolachlor (1.87 kg a.i./ha) followed by an early POST metribuzin (0.56 kg a.i. /ha) application followed by a late POST application of clethodim (0.28 kg a.i./ha). In general, high-residue clover and cereal rye cover crops provided substantial suppression of Palmer amaranth, large crabgrass, and yellow nutsedge. Across systems, minimum input in high-residue systems provided the highest net returns above variable costs compared to organic herbicide treatments that are costly and provide marginal benefit.
Keywords
- Conservation agriculture
- cover crop
- fruit
1. Introduction
In recent years, growing concerns over the environmental impact of conventional agricultural practices, coupled with a surge in consumer demand for sustainably-produced products, have led to increased grower adoption of organic agriculture. In 2011, cropland in the United States (U.S.) dedicated to organic vegetable production totaled over 47 thousand ha [1]. Organically produced vegetable sales, were estimated at 1.07 billion USD in 2011 [1]. Given the steady rise in organic product interest and efforts to ensure agricultural sustainability, a substantial amount of research has been dedicated to organic fruit and vegetable production in order to guarantee successful adoption of these practices as an alternative to conventional agriculture.
Unlike conventional agricultural practices, an organic approach to agriculture eliminates the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers and, instead, relies on biological and cultural pesticide control and organic soil amendments such as manure and crop residue to maintain soil fertility [2]. The goal of organic agriculture includes producing food and fiber products in a manner that increases biodiversity, promoting soil health, and reducing environmental degradation due to agricultural practices. A number of ecological differences have been noted in previous research when comparing conventional and organic agriculture [3,4]. Comparisons of soil properties and pest population dynamics for organic and traditional farming practices note differences between these systems that affect the agroecosystem [3,4].
2. Case study
In the U.S. approximately 1.36 million tons of in the open, fresh market tomatoes, worth over 1.134 billion USD, were produced on nearly 41.2 thousand ha in 2014 [5]. Tomato production systems typically utilize conventional tillage, a bedded plastic mulch culture, and multiple herbicide applications to control weeds. These conventional tillage systems enhance soil erosion and nutrient loss by reducing rainfall infiltration [6]. Additionally, tillage increases aeration which increases the rate of organic matter mineralization in the surface soil, thus reducing soil organic matter content, soil cation exchange capacity and potential productivity [7, 8].
Plastic mulch can increase soil temperature which can expedite tomato harvest [9]. Tomato harvest was not early following a hairy vetch mulch system [10, 11]. The use of plastic mulches in sustainable or organic production systems is in question by some producers and consumers since the mulch itself is non-biodegradable and made of non-renewable resources. Another environmental disadvantage with using plastic mulch vs. organic mulches is increased chemical runoff from plastic mulch systems and subsequent offsite chemical loading [12]. Thus, the intensive use of pesticides in vegetable production has resulted in ecological concerns. Therefore, alternative production practices that reduce tomato production inputs while maintaining yield and quality are desired.
One alternative for alleviating the aforementioned concerns is the use of high residue cover crops combined with reduced tillage. Cover crops in conservation-tillage systems can be terminated during early reproductive growth by mechanically rolling and treating with burndown herbicides to leave a dense mat of residue (> 4,500 kg/ha) on the soil surface into which cash crops are planted [13, 14]. Adoption of high residue cover crops is increasing in southeastern U.S. corn (
Winter cover crop biomass can affect subsequent early season weed control [26, 27]. Cover crop residue facilitates weed control by providing an unfavorable environment for weed germination and establishment under the residue as well as allelopathy [28, 29]. Teasdale and Daughtry [30] reported 52–70% reduction in weed biomass with live hairy vetch cover crop compared to a fallow treatment owing to changes in light and soil temperature regimen under the vetch canopy. Teasdale and Mohler [27] reported that legume mulches such as crimson clover and hairy vetch (
However, adoption of cover crops in tomato production has been limited because (1) currently available transplanters have problems penetrating heavy residue and (2) heavy cover crop residue can intercept delivery of soil-active herbicides. Research in the last two decades has extensively debated the advantages and disadvantages of cover crops vs. conventional plastic mulch systems for tomato production. Better or comparable tomato yields with hairy vetch cover crop system have been reported compared to the conventional polyethylene mulch system [31, 32]. Akemo et al. [33] also reported higher tomato yield with spring sown cover crops than the conventionally cultivated check. However, weed control with cover crops varies with cover crop species, amount of residue produced, and environmental conditions. Teasdale [28] reported that biomass levels achieved by cover crops before termination was sufficient only for early season weed control. Supplemental weed control measures are usually required to achieve season long weed control and to avoid yield losses [34, 23].
Cereal rye and crimson clover are two common winter cover crops widely used in the southeastern U.S. Both cover crops contain allelopathic compounds and produce residues that inhibit weed growth [15, 29, 35]. Brassica cover crops are relatively new in the southeastern U.S. but are becoming increasingly popular due to their potential allelopathic effects. Therefore, the objectives of this research were to evaluate: 1) weed control in two different high residue cover crop conservation tillage systems utilizing the Brazilian [13] high residue cover crop management system including cover crop rolling and 2) tomato stand establishment, yield, and net returns of conservation-transplanted tomatoes compared to the polythene mulch system following three different organic herbicide management systems.
3. Materials and methods
The two winter cover crops (cereal rye cv Elbon and crimson clover cv AU Robin) were compared to black polythene mulch for their weed suppressive potential and effect on yield and grade of fresh market tomatoes. Winter cover crops were planted with a no till drill in the fall. Rye was seeded at a rate of 100 kg/ha, whereas clover was seeded at 28 kg/ha. Since the overall objective was to evaluate weed control practices, general production practices included staking, traditional plant pest and plant pathogen methods, and fertilization was utilized to exclude any other pest and fertilization interactions and is a limitation of this case study. Nitrogen was applied at a rate of 67 kg/ha on rye plots in early spring of each year. Cover crops were terminated at flowering stage in late spring. To determine winter cover crop biomass production, plants were clipped at ground level from one randomly selected 0.25 m2 area per replicate immediately before termination. Plant samples were dried at 65 C for 72 hours and weighed. Cover crops were terminated with a mechanical roller crimper prior to an application of glyphosate at 1.12 kg a.e. /ha-1. The rolling process produced a uniform residue cover over the plots.
All three systems (two winter cover crops plus plastic mulch) were evaluated with and without herbicide for weed control. Organic weed control treatments included: 1) flaming utilizing a one burner hand torch, 2) PRE application of corn gluten, 3) PRE application of corn gluten followed by flaming, or 4) intermittent hand weeding as needed. A non-treated control and a standard herbicide program were included for comparison. The herbicide program consisting of a PRE application of S-metolachlor (1.87 kg a.i. ha-1) followed by an early POST (EPOST) metribuzin (0.56 kg a.i. ha-1) application followed by a late POST (LPOST) application of clethodim (0.28 kg a.i.ha-1). The PRE corn gluten application occurred immediately after tomato transplanting while the PRE herbicide application occurred prior to placing the plastic on top of the beds, the EPOST application was applied two weeks after transplanting, and the LPOST application was delayed until tomatoes were near mid-bloom. Flaming and hand hoeing was accomplished one week after transplanting and subsequently every two weeks following until harvest. Tomato cv. ‘Florida 47’ seedlings were transplanted on April 12, 2007.
Tomato seedlings were planted with a modified RJ no-till transplanter (RJ Equipment, Blenhiem, Ontario, Canada), which included a subsoiler shank installed to penetrate the heavy residue and disrupt a naturally occurring compacted soil layer found at both experimental sites at a depth of 30-40 cm. Additionally, two driving wheels were utilized (one wheel on each side of the tomato row) instead of the original single wheel at the center of the row, to improve stability and eliminate drive wheel re-compaction of the soil opening created by the shank. The plastic-mulch plots were conventionally tilled utilizing a tractor mounted rototiller prior to bedding and plastic installation; tomatoes were hand transplanted in the plastic mulch each year. Water was applied to all the plots immediately after transplanting. Thereafter, plots were irrigated every other day using a surface drip tape. Fertilizer 13-13-13 was applied prior to planting achieving 448 kg of N/ha-1 and then 7.8 kg of calcium nitrate ha-1 was applied once every week with the irrigation system.
Weed control was evaluated by visual ratings (0% = no control, 100% = complete control) 28 days after treatment (DAT) of the EPOST herbicide application. All weed species present were evaluated for control (as a reduction in total above ground biomass resulting from both reduced emergence and growth). Stand establishment was determined by counting the number of living tomato plants in each plot two weeks after LPOST application. Ripe tomatoes were hand harvested from the entire plot area in weekly intervals and sorted according to size (small, medium, large, and extra large categories).
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Small | 10.06 | 10.69 | 10.38 |
Medium | 9.47 | 10.14 | 9.81 |
Large | 9.34 | 9.99 | 9.67 |
Extra-large | 9.41 | 10.28 | 9.85 |
Mean | 9.57 | 10.58 |
The average marketing year price, regardless of organic certification, received by producers in Alabama in 2007 for fresh market tomatoes across all sizes (7.21 US$ box-1). For organically produced tomatoes, the average price received by Alabama producers for organic tomatoes in 2008 of 9.32 US$ box-1 across all sizes [37]. Data for organic tomatoes was not available in 2007. Therefore, the low-end prices by size were used in the analysis.
Productions costs for the three covers and five weed control treatments were adapted from 2008 tomato enterprise budgets [38] and experiment specific treatment costs. A partial budgeting approach was used to calculated variable treatments costs; therefore, the only costs considered were costs that differed by treatment and costs that varied by yield (Table 2). Costs that vary by yield include harvest costs, as well as grading and packing labor costs. Fixed costs, such as management costs, rent, and depreciation on machinery and buildings, differ by operation; therefore, they were not included in the analysis.
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No Treatment | 2226 | 505 | 376 |
Handweed | 3658 | 1937 | 1808 |
Flame Corn Gluten | 12935 | 11214 | 11085 |
Flame | 2859 | 1138 | 1009 |
Herbicide | 2392 | 671 | 542 |
4. Results and discussion
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Clover | 90a | 92a | 93a | 92a | 98a | 98a |
Rye | 96a | 98a | 95a | 88a | 97a | 98a |
Plastic | 5b | 5b | 5b | 33b | 37b | 43b |
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7 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 13 |
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1 | 63ba | 64a | 63ba | 60b | 71a | 73ba |
2 | 57b | 61a | 64ba | 73ba | 81a | 82ba |
3 | 61ba | 61a | 55b | 77ba | 80a | 82ba |
4 | 65ba | 65a | 66ba | 61b | 65a | 66b |
5 | 72a | 72a | 74a | 86a | 87a | 96a |
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10 | 10 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 17 |
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Clover 1 | 93a | 96a | 90a | 88a | 97a | 98a |
Clover 2 | 80a | 86a | 93a | 92a | 98a | 98a |
Clover 3 | 85a | 85a | 86a | 91a | 98a | 99a |
Clover 4 | 97a | 97a | 99a | 92a | 97a | 98a |
Clover 5 | 97a | 96a | 97a | 99a | 99a | 98a |
Plastic 1 | 0b | 0b | 0b | 6b | 20bc | 23b |
Plastic 2 | 0b | 0b | 0b | 49ba | 50bac | 50ba |
Plastic 3 | 0b | 0b | 0b | 50ba | 50bac | 50ba |
Plastic 4 | 0b | 0b | 0b | 0b | 0c | 0b |
Plastic 5 | 23b | 23b | 25b | 61a | 65ba | 90a |
Rye 1 | 97a | 97a | 98a | 86a | 97a | 99a |
Rye 2 | 92a | 97a | 98a | 79a | 96a | 99a |
Rye 3 | 97a | 99a | 81a | 90a | 94a | 96a |
Rye 4 | 98a | 99a | 99a | 90a | 98a | 99a |
Rye 5 | 96a | 98a | 99a | 98a | 99a | 99a |
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17 | 17 | 21 | 27 | 31 | 29 |
Aside from the herbicide treatment, greater than 20% of the total tomato yield were cull tomatoes under plastic cover.
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Clover | 5577a | 4838a | 9906a | 12298a | 263a | 32883a | 27305a |
Rye | 5479a | 4778a | 9649a | 11031a | 272a | 31210a | 25731a |
Plastic | 4226b | 2599b | 4566b | 7526b | 158a | 19074b | 14848b |
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612 | 576 | 1078 | 1931 | 197 | 3254 | 2931 |
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1 | 4159c | 4006a | 6669b | 7149c | 283ba | 22266c | 18107c |
2 | 5112bac | 4634a | 8220b | 8466cb | 54b | 26486cb | 21374cb |
3 | 5554ba | 4003a | 8355b | 11248b | 241ba | 29402b | 23848b |
4 | 4547bc | 3871a | 6471b | 6565c | 58b | 21512c | 16966c |
5 | 6098a | 3845a | 10486a | 17996a | 518a | 38944a | 32846a |
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790 | 744 | 1392 | 2493 | 255 | 4201 | 3784 |
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Clover 1 | 5076bac | 4972bdac | 9197bdac | 10390bedc | 240a | 29874bc | 24799bc |
Clover 2 | 6204a | 6395a | 10218bdac | 10004bedc | 161a | 32982bac | 26779bac |
Clover 3 | 5673ba | 5315bac | 10814bac | 11284bc | 194a | 33280bac | 27608bac |
Clover 4 | 4233bac | 381ebdc | 7463bdc | 8029edc | 125a | 23660edc | 19427dc |
Clover 5 | 6702a | 3698ebdc | 11838ba | 21782a | 594a | 44615a | 37913a |
Plastic 1 | 2974c | 2107e | 2226e | 2629ed | 0a | 9937e | 6963d |
Plastic 2 | 4556bac | 2676ed | 5953de | 8388edc | 0a | 21574edc | 17018dc |
Plastic 3 | 5098bac | 2838edc | 5693de | 10491bdc | 238a | 24357dc | 19259dc |
Plastic 4 | 3494bc | 2143e | 2668e | 1892e | 0a | 10197ed | 6703d |
Plastic 5 | 5006bac | 3229ebdc | 6289dec | 14228bac | 552a | 29304bc | 24297bc |
Rye 1 | 4428bac | 4937bdac | 8584bdc | 8429edc | 610a | 26988c | 22560c |
Rye 2 | 4577bac | 4831bdac | 8490bdc | 7005edc | 0a | 24902c | 20325c |
Rye 3 | 5892ba | 3855ebdc | 8559bdc | 11970bc | 292a | 30567bac | 24676bc |
Rye 4 | 5913ba | 5659ba | 9283bdac | 9775bedc | 50a | 30679bac | 24767bc |
Rye 5 | 6587a | 4608ebdac | 13332a | 17978ba | 409a | 42913ba | 36327ba |
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1368 | 1288 | 2410 | 4319 | 441 | 7277 | 6554 |
All treatments produced numerically higher NRVTC than the control, with the exception of plastic cover with flame treatment (Table 5). The clover cover and herbicide treatment produced the highest NRAVTC in 2007, followed by rye cover and herbicide treatment (Table 6). Both the non-treated control combined with clover and rye, as well as flame and hand-weeded treatments with clover cover, yielded higher NRAVTC than plastic with herbicide treatment. Across all cover treatments, corn gluten + flame had the lowest NRAVTC. The performance of corn gluten + flame was directly related to the cost of the corn gluten. As discussed above the corn gluten + flame weed control with clover cover had the third highest market tomato yields.
While total market yield is an important indicator of net returns, the distribution of tomatoes by size determines the level of revenue depending on the price by size. The price for each size is driven by the supply of each type of size and when the tomatoes are harvested during the season. This analysis did not consider harvest period in the revenue determination.
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Clover | 1 | 4680 | 1568 | 2254 |
2 | 3718 | 1524 | 1293 | |
3 | -5465 | 702 | -7890 | |
4 | 2951 | 1526 | 525 | |
5 | 6910 | 1167 | 4485 | |
Plastic | 1 | -769 | 421 | -3194 |
2 | -245 | 2079 | -2671 | |
3 | -9088 | 1809 | -11513 | |
4 | -1439 | 480 | -3865 | |
5 | 2426 | 549 | 0 | |
Rye | 1 | 4130 | 625 | 1704 |
2 | 2262 | 651 | -164 | |
3 | -6261 | 1024 | -8686 | |
4 | 3954 | 1663 | 1528 | |
5 | 6563 | 261 | 4137 |
This research demonstrates that high residue cover crops like cereal rye and clover can provide improved weed control compared to black polyethylene mulch. Previous research has also reported improved weed control with increased biomass production by cover crops [39]. Increased weed control has also been observed by Nagabhushna et al. [40] with an increase in the seeding rate of rye. Another important factor which could have facilitated increased weed control by rye and clover residue is rolling with mechanical roller crimper. The rolling process resulted in a uniform mat of residue on the soil surface that was a substantial physical barrier for weed seedlings to emerge through compared to tomato plant openings in the plastic mulch system that provides no barrier. Yenish et al. [41] also reported inconsistent control with cover crop residue and concluded herbicides were always required to achieve optimum weed control in corn. However, Yenish et al. cautioned weed control should not be the only criterion in selection of cover crops. Factors like cost and ease of establishment, impact on yield should be taken into consideration before selecting a cover crop. Results in this paper are short term effects of converting from a conventional plastic mulch system to two high-residue conservation tillage systems. These results indicate the economic possibility of growing fresh market tomatoes utilizing a conservation tillage system while maintaining yields and economic returns. However, the long term impact of these systems on yield and profitability require further investigation.
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