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Tomato (Processing)
Year-Round IPM Program
(Reviewed 1/07, updated 1/07)
These practices are recommended for a monitoring-based IPM program that reduces water quality problems related to pesticide use. Links take you to information on how to monitor, forms to use, and management practices. Track your progress through the year with the annual checklist form.
Water quality becomes impaired when pesticides move off-site and into water. Each time a pesticide application is considered, review the Pesticide Application Checklist at the bottom of this page for information on how to minimize water quality problems.
Note: This program covers the major pests of processing tomatoes in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys; information on additional pests, including pests of fresh market tomatoes, is included in the Tomato Pest Management Guideline.
Preplant |
| Special issues of concern related to water quality: Fertilizer application, herbicide application, drift, and runoff due to rain or irrigation. |
| What should you be doing during this time? |
Consider a cover crop (rather than fallowing
or vegetative filter strips) to:
- Minimize rainfall
runoff
- Improve infiltration
- Reduce erosion
Survey and manage weeds in previous crop. |
| Consider a subsurface drip
irrigation system or other modifications of your
irrigation system to reduce run off and risk of diseases
and weeds. |
| Select
your field, considering cropping and pest history,
and surrounding crops. Check previous crop for signs of
disease or soil problems that may affect tomatoes. |
| If nematode galled roots were found in the previous
season, take soil and root samples for nematodes. |
| Take a preplant soil
sample for nutrient and salinity analysis. |
| Check field and surrounding land for vole
activity in late
fall or winter. |
| Consider crop
rotation for reducing pathogen, nematode
and weed problems. |
| Consider a preplant
irrigation in the Southern San Joaquin
Valley. |
| Evaluate fallow or preplant herbicide needs. |
Select a tomato
variety, considering:
- Dodder
- Prevalent
pathogen problems
- Nematode problems
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| Use pathogen-free transplants. |
| Prepare the
field before planting. |
| If weather has been cool and wet and bacterial
speck has been common in the field,
consider delaying planting. |
Planting to prebloom
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| Special issues of concern related to water quality: Fertilizer application, herbicide sprays, insecticide application, fungicide application, drift, and runoff due to irrigation or rain. |
| What should you be doing during this time? |
Take caution not to move pests from the greenhouse to the
field.
- Before planting, visually inspect
plants for diseases
and insects.
- Destroy plants with late blight, gray mold, silverleaf
whitefly or pinworm.
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Apply fertilizer
at planting. |
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Consider an irrigation if
your location has not had an adequate spring rain. |
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Look for insects, seedling diseases, and blank spots from seedling emergence to 2–3 true leaves:
- Cutworms
- Darkling beetle
- Flea beetles
- Damping off
- Aphids
- Garden symphylans
- Wireworms
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Survey and manage weeds:
- Cultivate weeds along plant line.
- Consider hand weeding.
- Complete a weed
survey form.
Consider herbicide treatment based on survey information. |
| Consider sidedressing
the crop with nitrogen at prebloom. |
| Consider treatments for:
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| Look for
bacterial canker and manage according
to the Tomato Pest Management Guideline, especially
under cool and wet conditions or sprinkler-irrigated
fields. |
| Other pests you may see:
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Bloom to early fruit set |
| Special issues of concern
related to water quality: Fertilizer
application, fungicide application, insecticide application,
drift, runoff due to irrigation. |
| What should you be doing during this time? |
| Start
monitoring for consperse stink bugs by placing stinkbug
pheromone traps in the field at flowering. |
| Take petiole and leaf tissue samples for
nutrient analysis and apply nutrients as necessary. |
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Irrigate as
required for plant growth. |
Look for diseases such as:
Clean equipment to reduce transfer
of some diseases to non-infected fields. Keep records for
next year's management practices. |
| Monitor weekly for signs and symptoms of powdery
mildew. |
Other
pests or damage you may see:
- Green peach aphid and other early season aphids
- Armyworms
- Whiteflies
- Loopers
- Hornworms
- Potato aphid
- Lygus
- Thrips
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Late fruit set |
| Special issues of concern related to water quality: Insecticide application, fungicide application, drift, runoff due to irrigation. |
| What should you be doing during this time? |
| Use irrigation practices that
will enhance fruit yield and quality. |
Take leaf samples for:
- Tomato fruitworm
- Potato aphid
Keep records on a monitoring
form . |
| Sample for stink bugs by
shaking vines. Treatment is not usually
required for juice or paste, otherwise treat if needed
according to Tomato Pest Management Guideline. |
| When plants are 1 inch or more in diameter, sample fruit
for:
Keep records on a monitoring
form and
treat if needed according to Tomato Pest Management Guideline. |
| Continue monitoring for bronzing due to russet
mite. |
Watch for diseases:
- Bacterial canker
- Late blight
- Buckeye rot
Treat if needed according to
the Tomato Pest Management Guideline. |
| Consider management for blackmold according
to Tomato Pest Management Guideline. |
| Look for signs and symptoms of powdery
mildew. |
Other pests or damage you may see:
- Green peach aphid and other early season aphids
- Armyworms
- Whiteflies
- Loopers
- Hornworms
- Potato aphid
- Lygus
- Thrips
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First red fruit |
| Special issues of concern related to water quality: Insecticide application, fungicide application, drift, runoff due to irrigation. |
Harvest and postharvest |
| Special issues of concern related to water quality: None. |
| What should you be doing during this time? |
| Identify
pest damage in harvested fruit. |
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Plan fallow season, cover crop, or overwintering crop
management to reduce runoff and erosion. |
| Plan for next year. |
Pesticide application checklist |
When planning for possible pesticide applications in an IPM program, review and complete this checklist to consider practices that minimize environmental and efficacy problems.
- Choose a pesticide from the UC IPM Pest Management Guidelines for the target pest considering:
- Select an alternative chemical or nonchemical treatment when risk is high.
- Choose sprayers and application procedures that keep pesticides on target.
- Identify and take special care to protect sensitive areas (for example, waterways or riparian areas) surrounding your application site.
- Review and follow label for pesticide handling, storage, and disposal guidelines.
- Check and follow restricted entry intervals (REI) and preharvest intervals (PHI).
- After an application is made, record application date, product used, rate, and location of application. Follow up to confirm that treatment was effective.
- Consider water management practices that reduce pesticide movement off-site:
- Install an irrigation recirculation or storage and reuse system.
- Use drip rather than sprinkler or flood irrigation.
- Limit irrigation to amount required using soil moisture monitoring and ET.
- Consider vegetative filter strips or ditches.
- Redesign inlets into tailwater ditches to reduce erosion.
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