Tomato production focus of AgriLife Research project

Tomato production focus of AgriLife Research project.
Tomato production focus of AgriLife Research project.

A research project with AgriLife Research, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture and West Texas A&M University will focus on commercial tomato production in the Texas High Plains. 


“This will be the first study for the Texas High Plains that will compare production from different tomato cultivars under center pivot irrigation and field and high tunnel drip irrigation in terms of yield and quality, disease and insect pressure and crop water-use efficiency,” Dr. Charlie Rush said. 


Rush is the Texas A&M AgriLife Research plant pathologist based in Amarillo.


Texas has seen a significant drop in tomato plant acreage since the 1960s, amounting to $250 million per year in lost revenue for the state. Rush said farmers need more regionally adapted information in order to produce the high quality tomatoes which customers are seeking.


“We are looking at high-value vegetable crops on a smaller acreage, thus using less overall water for the potential of a huge return,” he said. “Not only are we trying to meet a need of the consumer for locally grown produce, but we are looking to help the producer maintain or increase their income with less water.”


The research will be conducted at the USDA/AgriLife Research Conservation and Production Research Laboratory. The goal of the project is to determine if commercial tomato production is able to expand its high quality crop yield in the Texas panhandle.