2025/11/19 by Vernon P. Grubinger, Rebecca Maden · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Plant Disease Management Techniques #Greenhouse Technology and Climate Control #Berry genetics and cultivation research
paper · doi:10.21273/horttech05779-25
openalex publication_date 2025/11/19 · openalex created_date 2025/11/19 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
High tunnel tomatoes are a high-value crop for many vegetable growers in New England. We conducted a survey to gain a better understanding of grower concerns, production practices, infrastructure, yield, and revenue for tunnels growing in-ground, trellised, and irrigated hybrid “slicer” tomato cultivars. We found that top grower concerns were soil fertility and plant diseases (cited by 51% and 45% of growers, respectively). At least two-thirds of tunnels were managed with organic practices, produced winter greens after tomatoes, had manual roll-up sides and large endwalls for passive ventilation, had horizontal air flow (HAF) fans for air circulation, had plants that were not lowered, used fertigation, relied on passive pollination, were sprayed to manage disease, and used biocontrols for insect pests. Approximately one-half the tunnels had air heating systems, had grafted plants, had not been rotated out of tomatoes, had nonthinned flower clusters, used Geronimo and/or Rebelski cultivars, had a plant density of 4 to 6 ft 2 /stem, and were mulched with black plastic and/or landscape fabric. Total yield reported by growers was 0.74 to 5.35 lb/ft 2 , with an average of 2.18 lb/ft 2 . The average marketable yield was 1.78 lb/ft 2 . The average retail price was 4.56/lb. Tunnels with the 10 highest yields averaged 3.15 lb/ft 2 or twice the average of other tunnels. Practices in the high-yielding tunnels that also had an adoption rate 50% or greater than the rate in the low-yielding tunnels included automatic roll-up sides, air heating, grafted plants, and HAF fans.