ABSTRACT
There are primarily two size/owner systems for the production of greenhouse tomatoes, one being a single-or multiple-bay greenhouse operated by a single operator-owner, the other being large multiple-acre commercial greenhouse complexes such as Village Farms (Robinson, 2002), Amco Farms (Spillane, 2002a), and EuroFresh Farms (Palenk, 2005). Morgan (2003c) wrote, ‘‘commercial growers must produce continual high yields of quality fruit from intensively planted greenhouse hydroponic systems to remain economically viable.” For those seeking information on the former, the CropKing Inc. (https://www.cropking.com/), Mississippi State University (https://www.msstate.edu/), and North Carolina State University (https://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/greenhouse_veg/) websites are good sources. The websites of EuroFresh Farms (https://www.eurofresh.com/) and the Controlled Environment Agriculture Center (CEAC) at the University of Arizona (https://www.ag.arizona.edu/hydroponictomatoes/index.htm) are good sources of information for those in the latter category. Morgan (2003c) also states that ‘‘the secret to the success of any tomato growing operation, be it large or small, is understanding the physiology of the plant-from germination right through to the final harvest.” In this chapter, the main focus is on providing guidance for the single operator-owner, although references are made to commercial tomato greenhouse operations when appropriate.
