Beefsteak Cultivar Trials- Part 1 (The Pictures)

Objectives

Greenhouse tomato production in the United States now encompasses a wide spectrum of fruit types and cultivars. Producers desire both attractive and distinctive crop cultivars to meet consumer demand, but consistency in both productivity and quality is still a key. Even with the increasing desire for specialty cultivars, many small to mid-scale growers still often establish and maintain their a large portion of their sales with beefsteak tomatoes. For many US consumers, high visual and taste quality in beefsteak tomatoes is the basis for greenhouse tomato price premiums. Because many greenhouse vegetable producers rely on a few specific cultivars, the production and reliability of those cultivars is essential. Additionally, over time their customers become accustomed to the taste and appearance of a certain cultivar and change must be carefully weighed. However, cultivars are sometimes discontinued or unavailable due to seed shortages, so being familiar with other options is quite important for growers. We generally encourage tomato growers to trial small sections of different cultivars on a consistent basis to remain up to date on new offerings and to be prepared if they are forced to switch cultivars. It is obviously important for us at CropKing to be familiar with cultivar options for growers. So, this evaluation was carried out both to increase our knowledge of several available beefsteaks and to provide information for growers who may be considering these tomatoes as options for their current crops. Cultivars were obtained from a variety of seed suppliers to represent a broad selection of cultivars available to greenhouse tomato producers.

Crop Overview