Southeastern U.S. Vegetable Crop Handbook - 2023 - 113

made driving tool or with a commercially available, power-driven
stake driving tool. Drive stakes to a consistent depth so that
spray booms can be operated in the field without damaging the
trellis system.
Select " tomato twine " that is resistant to weathering and
stretching and that binds well to the wooden stakes. Tomato
twine is available in 3- to 4-pound boxes. Approximately 30
pounds of twine is required per acre. To make tying convenient,
use a homemade stringing tool. This tool can be made from a
length of metal conduit, schedule 40 PVC pipe, broom handle,
or wooden dowel. With conduit and PVC pipe, the string is fed
through the pipe. With a broom handle or wooden dowel, two
small parallel holes, each about 1 inch from the end, must be
drilled to feed the string through one hole along the length of the
tool and through the other hole. The tool serves as an extension
of the worker's arm (the length cut to the worker's preference)
and helps to keep the string tight.
Proper stringing consists of tying the twine to an end stake
passing the string along one side of the plants, and then looping
the twine around each stake until the end of a row or section
(100-foot sections with alleys may be helpful for harvesting) is
reached. The same process is continued on the other side of the
row. The string tension must be tight enough to hold the plants
upright. Note: If strings are too tight, they can make harvesting
fruit difficult and can scar fruit.
The first stringing should be strung 8 to 10 inches above
the ground when plants are 12 to 15 inches tall and before they
fall over. Run the next string 6 to 8 inches above the preceding
string before plants start to fall over. Three to four stringings are
required for most determinate varieties. Stringing should be done
when the foliage is dry to prevent the spread of diseases.
Heirloom Tomatoes. Heirloom tomatoes are varieties that have
been available for 50 years or more, are open pollinated, and
grow " true to type " from seed saved from fruit each year. They
are generally indeterminate, requiring trellising and constant
pruning. Most varieties have little disease resistance. The fruit
are usually thin-skinned, soft, and tend to crack. Consumers
are attracted to heirloom tomatoes because many varieties are
very flavorful, colorful, come in many sizes and shapes, and
have interesting names. For the growers, heirloom tomatoes are
challenging to produce and difficult to ship, but can bring high
prices on the local market.
There are hundreds of varieties of heirloom tomatoes available.
Some of the most popular varieties include Brandywine,
German Johnson, Mr. Stripey, Cherokee Carbon, Cherokee Purple,
and Green Zebra.
Because most heirloom tomatoes are indeterminate, they
must be grown on a tall, strong trellis. A trellis can be constructed
of 3 inch diameter, or larger, posts set 10-15 feet apart within
the row. Use 7-8 ft. long posts, leaving 6-7 ft. above ground.
Run a stout wire (12 gauge) across the tops of the posts and secure
it with staples. Pieces of twine, long enough to reach the
ground, should be tied to the top wire above each plant. The
twine can be anchored with a loop to each plant or to a bottom
line of twine that is strung about 6 in. off the ground and
secured to the posts. Some growers use the standard string and
2023 Vegetable Crop Handbook for Southeastern United States
weave-staked culture system for heirloom tomatoes, as described
for the determinate tomatoes, but they use 6-ft. long
stakes instead of the normal 4-ft. long stakes.
In a trellis system, plants are usually spaced 8-10 in. apart
within the row and pruned to a single stem system. A two stem
system may also be used, in which the plants should be spaced
18-30 in. apart within the row. If using a standard staking system,
plants should be spaced 18-24 in. apart. Once the plants are
established, suckers must be removed several times a week. If
the main growing point is broken off, a sucker can be trained to
take its place.
Because most heirloom tomatoes have little disease resistance,
it is important to maintain a good fungicide spray
schedule. For organic production, it might be necessary to grow
heirloom tomatoes under high tunnels, especially in areas with
high disease pressure. Grafting heirloom varieties onto diseases
resistant rootstocks might also increase your success at growing
organically.
TOMATO DISORDERS
Your local county Extension office has bulletins that describe
fruit disorders in detail. Here are several common disorders of
tomato and their causes: catfacing (cool day and/or night temperatures
or very hot dry days), internal browning, graywall
and blotchy ripening, (tobacco mosaic virus, overcast cloudy
environment, high N, low K or soil compaction), yellow shoulder
(direct sun exposure, worse on green shouldered varieties),
sunburn and sunscald (direct rapid exposure to the sun),
weathercheck (fruit exposed to dew), blossom end rot (low
soil calcium and/or soil moisture), cracking (variety, irregular
water, growth, and/or nutrition). Check out the following link
for images and discussions for several common problems in tomato
production -http://extension.msstate.edu/publications/publications/
tomato-troubles-common-problems-tomatoes
SPECIAL
NOTES ON PEST MANAGEMENT
INSECT MANAGEMENT
Colorado Potato Beetle (CPB), Flea Beetles (FB): While flea
beetles are a common pest of tomato throughout the southeastern
US, Colorado potato beetle are most common in areas where
significant acreage of potatoes is also grown. Flea beetles are
primarily a problem early in the season shortly after planting,
and are usually controlled by insecticides applied for other insects.
Adults feed on foliage, resulting in small round holes on
leaves. In most situations this damage does not affect early season
growth or subsequent yields, but control may be necessary
when populations are high (20-30% defoliation).
Colorado potato beetle adults and larvae feed on tomato foliage
and can cause extensive defoliation if not controlled. CPB
feed only on solanaceous plants, and populations tend to be concentrated
in areas where potato, eggplant and tomato have previously
been grown. Consequently, rotation to non-solanaceous
crops is very effective in helping to avoid infestations. Thoroughly
scout fields and spray only when necessary. Treatment
should be made if populations exceed 15 adults per 10 plants
113
http://extension.msstate.edu/publications/publications/
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