Emergence and growth of tomatoes after sowing chitted and untreated seed

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Abstract Chitted and untreated seed of cv. VF145-B7879 was sown at intervals during spring, both in a covered seedbed to grow plants to transplanting size and in the field to grow plants to maturity. Seedling emergence was more uniform after sowing chitted than untreated seed on some occasions in the seedbed but never in the field. The final percentage emergence from chitted seed was often higher in the seedbed but consistently lower in the field. In both the seedbed and the field chitted seed emerged consistently earlier than untreated seed. Plants from chitted seed reached transplanting size more quickly in the seedbed, but in the field fruit maturity was rarely earlier than in plants from untreated seed. Chitted seed had advantages at emergence only under favourable conditions, and at later growth stages only where much earlier emergence was obtained and subsequent conditions favoured rapid growth. Advantages from sowing chitted instead of untreated seed are considered to be very limited.