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Farmers are invited to view two new and very different concepts in fresh-market tomato production at a field day from 9 to 10 a.m. Friday, June 25, at the University of California Kearney Agricultural Center, 9240 S. Riverbend Ave., near Parlier.

In one part of the trial, entomologist Charlie Summers, vegetable crops specialist Jeff Mitchell and IPM plant pathologist Jim Stapleton are growing the plants on reflective plastic mulch, which earlier trials have proven to be extremely effective in preventing aphid-borne plant diseases in squash, melons, corn and other plants.

"Not only does the mulch reduce diseases by repelling the aphids that spread disease, it also suppresses weeds and conserves water," Summers said. "We’re anxious to see what the results will be in tomatoes."

The other new concept is a "no till" system, where a cover crop such as tritacale or Sudan grass is grown prior to planting tomatoes and then slashed down to form a straw-like mat on the planting bed. The tomato transplants are planted into the mulch created by dead plant material.

Both new systems are being compared with conventional bare-soil tomato production in the replicated trial.

"We’ve been taking an immense amount of disease, pest and plant growth data from these trials," Summers said. "We don’t have results yet but growers can make a preliminary visual assessment at the field day."

When the experiment is completed in the fall, the scientists will make an economic analysis of the three systems demonstrated in the trial to balance the cost of inputs with yield and fruit quality results.

The tomatoes planted in April are now five to seven weeks away from harvest. Another planting is planned for June 29.

"We’ll be asking growers for their input at the field day," Summers said. "We want to know if there are other production factors we should consider in our next trial."