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Agronomic types and the conduction
of tomatoes depend on the architecture
of the plant, where agricultural and agro-
nomic implications also count. Table to-
matoes, consumed fresh, are characterized
by undetermined development and never
stop growing – frequently farmers need to
prune them to curb their development.
There are also tomatoes with semi-unde-
termined growth, called half-stake, with
shorter internodes between the bunches,
facilitating management practices. Deter-
mined tomatoes are low-growing plants
and their fruit are mostly for industrial use.
“Tomato genes are variable, and they
bear all genetic traits that define the char-
acteristics of the plant”, explains Leonar-
do Boiteux, from Embrapa Vegetable. The
two major production sectors throughout
the Country are focused on table and in-
dustrial tomatoes – the production cen-
ters of the latter are located in Central Bra-
zil, in Goiás and in the Federal District,
besides Western São Paulo. Currently, the
fields and the industrial park are central-
ized in Goiânia and in small surrounding
municipalities, but in the past this activity
was very relevant in the Northeast.
Constant and recurring phytosani-
tary problems in Vale do São Francisco,
in the late 1980s and early 1990s, forced
many companies to switch to other re-
gions. “The first serious problems were
moth outbreaks, an insect that caused
much damage to the crop. Then came the
spotted wilt virus and, later, the whitefly
and geminivirus”, the researcher explains.
“These incidences disrupted the industri-
al tomato sector greatly in the Northeast,
resulting into significant production de-
creases. The crop that once occupied 12
thousand hectares, is now restricted to
one thousand hectares”. Other scenarios
also suffered alterations as years went by,
like labor replacement in the field.
Directions
to follow
Fromindustrytotable,thesectoris
makingstridesalongthedevelopment
pathandprospectsforsolutions
thataddproductionand
qualitytothedifferentniches
