Browse Tomatoes Stories

46 results found for Tomatoes
In the spring, crape myrtles add color with flowers. In the fall, they add color with brightly colored leaves. CAES News
Crape Myrtle Care
Southern gardeners love crape myrtles, but many don’t know how to care for them to realize the full, gorgeous blooms they expect in the summer.
Tomato lovers will attest that homegrown always tastes best, even if they don't always win beauty contests. CAES News
Summer Tomatoes
During the summer growing season, the love many have for a homegrown tomato approaches obsession. In fact, some people love tomatoes so much that they struggle to grow them — because they give their plants too much care.
Qian Feng, a second-year doctoral candidate in the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, has mapped additional genes responsible for volatile production in order to offer a more complete picture of the biochemical pathways in tomatoes. She hopes that other researchers can introduce the desirable genes into current or new varieties to breed a tastier  tomato. CAES News
Tastier Tomatoes
Why have tomatoes lost their flavor? Why do some dishes call for ketchup when cooking with tomatoes? These are a couple of the questions that Qian Feng, a second-year University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences doctoral candidate, seeks to answer through her research.
Blossom-end rot, which manifests in the first few weeks of growth after tomato flowers are pollinated, causes black, rotted areas on the blossom end of the fruit, opposite the stem. CAES News
Tomato Research
Home gardeners and commercial farmers alike can attest to the disappointment of seeing a beautiful tomato ripening on a vine, only to discover that the fruit has dark, sunken pits at the blossom end of the fruit. Called blossom-end rot (BER), this physiological disorder is prevalent in fruit and vegetable crops, including tomatoes, and can cause severe economic losses.
Researchers at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences have recently found the genetic mechanism that controls the shape of tomatoes also controls the shape of potatoes and may control the shape of other fruits as well. CAES News
Making Tomatoes Safer
When vegetable farmers harvest crops, they often rely on postharvest washing to reduce any foodborne pathogens, but a new University of Georgia study shows promise in reducing these pathogens — as well as lowering labor costs — by applying sanitizers to produce while it is still in the fields.
Salsas are an example of an acidified food and appropriate for boiling water canning if the final pH of all components is less than 4.6. (photo by Kayla Wall) CAES News
Tomato Preservation
It’s the height of tomato season in Georgia and the harvest is abundant. Tomatoes can be preserved by canning, drying, freezing or pickling. They can also be used in creating fruit spreads like jams, jellies and marmalades.
This 2015 photo shows sunburnt watermelons in a Tift County field. Watermelons can get sunburn if the vines aren't receiving enough water, which leads to wilting that makes fruit vulnerable to sun exposure. CAES News
Sunscalding
Even with the welcomed rain Georgia farmers experienced this week, sunscalding on certain fruits and vegetables remains a concern as producers continue with this year’s harvest, according to University of Georgia Cooperative Extension vegetable specialist Andre da Silva.
Horticulture Professor Esther van der Knapp of the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences worked with a team of geneticists around the world to create a fuller inventory of the genetic diversity of the tomato. They release a pangenome for the tomato in the May edition of Nature Genetics. (photos by Merritt Melancon) CAES News
Tomato Pan-genome
 It’s summer, and Georgia gardeners are anxiously awaiting their first tomato harvest. Just in time for those first tomato sandwiches, researchers at the University of Georgia have helped unlock the mystery of what separates today’s tomatoes from their inedible ancestors.
Researchers at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences have recently found the genetic mechanism that controls the shape of tomatoes also controls the shape of potatoes and may control the shape of other fruits as well. CAES News
Fruit Shape
From elongated tubes to near-perfect spheres, vegetables come in almost every size and shape. But what differentiates a fingerling potato from a russet or a Roma tomato from a beefsteak? Researchers at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences recently found the genetic mechanism that controls the shape of some of our favorite fruits, vegetables and grains.
The fictional Peter Rabbit isn't the only rabbit that enjoys munching in vegetable gardens. To keep rabbits out of home gardens, University of Georgia Extension specialists recommend building a fence around precious plants. The fence must be at least 2 feet high and must be buried 8 to 12 inches deep. CAES News
Rabbit control
Rabbits are often welcomed additions to lawns because many homeowners find them adorable. They love to see rabbits at the edges of their lawns early in the morning or in the evening. However, if the population is left unchecked, rabbits can cost homeowners hundreds, even thousands, of dollars a year in damages.