The University of Florida has come up with a tomato variety that some say could be a game-changer for the Sunshine State’s tomato industry.
The compact tomato, which has the potential for being mechanically harvested, was developed by Sam Hutton, who until recently was an associate professor of tomato breeding and genetics at the university’s Wimauma-based Gulf Coast Research and Education Center.
It grows on the ground, so it does not require labor to stake it or tie it, and it only has to be harvested one time, said Jack Rechcigl, director of the center.
The university has been working to perfect the variety for about 20 years, he said. “It looks really, really promising.”
The compact tomato has been released, and the university is looking for a private company to market it and pay royalties to support future research with the breeding program, Rechcigl said.
“Given the wage-rate disparity between Florida and Mexico, it would be a game-changer if Florida growers could harvest at least part of their crops by machine,” said Michael Schadler, executive vice president of the Maitland-based Florida Tomato Exchange.
No one expects the machine-harvesting idea to be an overnight sensation in Florida, though.
“This is still a long way out because the machines need to be developed, but we needed to develop the right tomatoes before we develop the machines,” Schadler said.
Hutton, who recently signed on as senior breeder with Lipman Family Farms, Immokalee, Fla., said finding a harvester may not be too complicated, depending on what type of machine would be needed.
Some California companies already use machines to harvest tomatoes for processing, Hutton said.
“If one or more of those could be modified appropriately to be less damaging to the fruit, that would be the fastest route possible,” he said.
The process will take longer, however, if a new machine has to be built from scratch.
Key to the success of the concept will be whether growers can grow the new tomato profitably and whether there’s enough interest in developing a harvester, Hutton said.
“The demand is what’s going to fuel it,” he said.
