Successful tomato crop

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33815, 11 April 1975, Page 7

Successful tomato crop

The ivtite.r of the Accompanying item is .Mr R. A. Crowder, senior lecturer in vegetable production at Lincoln College. He reports on a further successful season for large-scale tomato production, in spite of difficult weather conditions, and the visit to Canterbury next week of a world expert in mechanical tomato ptoduc-

It would now appear that tomatoes for processing have become an accepted alternative crop for mixed cropping farmers in Canterbury.

In a year that has not been noteworthy for high farm incomes, processed tomatoes on the mixed cropping farm at Lincoln College and on several other local farms have returned gross incomes of well in excess of $l4OO per hectare.

One crop did, in fact, record a phenomenal gross income of $2600 per hectare, which represents a record crop for Canterbury of 94 tonnes per hectare on a once-over harvest basis. Such a yield would be regarded as highly satisfactory not only in Hawke's Bay. New Zealand’s main producing area, but also in California, the world’s leading tomato producer. This vear’s venture has

gone forward under the directive of several vegetable processing companies who are interested in expanding tomato production into Canterbury on a large scale.

The season's results, which have given the largest tomato harvest in

Canterbury's history close to 700 tonnes, which is more than double last year’s harvest —- must augur well for the future of this crop.in Canterbury. Further large increases in production are expected during the 1975-76 season and interest in mechanical harvesting developments has quickened as a result. It is very appropriate, therefore, that Canterbury should be receiving a visit from the world’s leading expert in mechanical tomato production, Dr W,.

Sims, ef the University of California at Davis. Involved for 15 years in the transition of the Califor-: nian tomato industry from! hand picking to mechanical! harvesting, Dr Sims will be speaking at a meeting of! the Canterbury Vegetable Growers’ Association to be held at Avon Motor Lodge next Thursday at 7.45 p.m. Everyone interested in the development of high value vegetable process crops in Canterbury, with special reference to tomatoes, should make an effort to; attend this meeting.