ABSTRACT
Tomatoes are the fourth most popular produce item and are commonly used in sandwiches, salads, and other ensemble meals. This chapter focuses on fresh-market mature round green field-grown tomatoes, which represent about 75 percent of US field tomato production, though information gathered from growers of other field-grown tomatoes. California’s tomato production occurs in two main growing regions—the Central Valley and the Southern Coastal counties—each with distinct production practices. Anne Gillman and Edward Spang from ongoing field research by their team, focuses on qualitative methods and features no field measurement. The researchers used a professional service to generate transcriptions of all in-person interviews. The researchers found significant variance in estimated loss for fresh tomatoes, with changes from year to year, or for different periods within a growing season. The chapter argues that the need for input from relevant stakeholders and field testing is crucial in advance of the promotion and scaling of any suggested interventions.
