ABSTRACT
Tomato is one of the most commonly grown fresh vegetables in the market. Tomatoes are high yielding and labour intensive crops. In Massachusetts, for example, there are approximately 500 acres of tomatoes, and approximately 500 vegetable farms. However, some of the larger farms produce are about 10-15 acres in the region of Massachusetts. Although few farmers grow less than one acre (Kuepper and Born, 1999), tomato yields of 650 to 850 boxes (30 pounds each) per acre are common in the South Central U.S. (e.g., Oklahoma) (Dean et al., 1987a). This is equivalent to 19,000 to 25,000 pounds or about 10 to 13 tons per acre (George and Born, 1999).
