YIELD RESPONSE OF FOUR BEEFSTEAK TOMATO CULTIVARS IN THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS'2

摘要

Tomato (Solarium lycopersicum L.) is a leading vegetable crop in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) grown for the fresh market. Tomato ranks second in production after cucumber and third in terms of planted area in the USVI. Over 75% of total tomato production is grown in St. Croix because of availability of flat agriculture land in that island. The latest Virgin Islands Census of Agriculture (2007 Census of Agriculture, 2009), report that 19,179 kg of tomatoes were harvested from 4 ha of planting, whichwas 314 kg less compared to 2002 when 19,493 kg was harvested in same area of planting. The data indicate that tomato yield is low (4.7 t/ha) in the USVI. Tomato production in the USVI has been severely affected by high labor and management cost, diseases and pests, weeds, natural disasters, limited irrigation water, and declining economy.