Stand Deficiencies and Replanting Effects on Tomato Fruit Yields and Size

Abstract

Abstract The effects of replanting stand-deficient plots on marketable tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) fruit size and yields were investigated at Bradenton, Fla. during the 1986 spring and fall seasons. Treatments consisted of a control (10-plant plot) and plots with 9, 8, and 7 (10%, 20%, and 30%) missing plants. Other plots with the same stand deficiency were replanted to attain a complete stand 2 or 3 weeks and 1, 2, or 3 weeks after initial transplanting in the spring and fall experiments, respectively. Plots with 30% stand reduction produced a lower weight and number of marketable fruit per hectare than control plots in both seasons. In spring, replanting stand-deficient plots did not increase marketable fruit yields relative to plots not replanted, regardless of the time of replanting or percentage of stand reduction. In fall, under an unfavorable environment due to a late infestation of bacterial spot, replanting plots with 30% stand reduction increased marketable fruit yields over similar plots that were not replanted, when the replanting occurred 1 or 2 weeks after initial transplanting, but not when replanting was delayed 3 weeks. Small, medium, or extra-large marketable fruit weight per hectare were similar in both seasons for plots with 30% stand reduction, whether replanted or not. Mean fruit size (g/fruit) did not differ significantly among treatments in either experiment. These results suggest that replanting improved marketable tomato yields only when the level of stand deficiency reached 30% and only in a stressed environment.