Cultivation of tomato: production, processing and marketing

TL;DR: The Agrodok as discussed by the authors focuses on good practices for growing a healthy tomato crop and obtaining a reasonably steady yield and provides practical information on small-scale cultivation, harvesting, storing, processing and marketing of tomatoes.

Abstract: All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by print, photocopy, microfilm or any other means, without written permission from the publisher. Introduction 3 Foreword Tomato is one of the most widely cultivated crops in the world. It is an important source of vitamins and an important cash crop for smallholders and medium-scale commercial farmers. This Agrodok focuses on good practices for growing a healthy tomato crop and obtaining a reasonably steady yield. It provides practical information on small-scale cultivation, harvesting, storing, processing and marketing of tomatoes. Seed selection and conservation, integrated pest management methods and record keeping are also covered. We hope this information will be helpful to vegetable growers, whether beginners or more experienced farmers, extension workers and agricultural teachers. In this revised edition, the sections on pepper and paprika growing in previous editions have been omitted to make room for information on all the above-mentioned aspects of tomato cultivation. Agromisa entered a cooperation agreement with PROTA for the development of this publication. For more information on PROTA see the section at the back of this Agrodok. We wish to express our thanks to Jan Siemonsma and Chris Bosch of PROTA, and to Remi Nono-Womdim, Gerard Grubben, Rene Geel-hoed, Bianca van Haperen and Guus van den Berg for their comments on the manuscript. We invite you as a reader to send your comments and suggestions on how to improve or extend the contents of this Agrodok.