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Late spring freeze affects availability of coveted Arkansas tomArkansas Arkansas may be enjoying the first few days of summer, but the effects of the late spring freeze still linger. Farmers and gardeners alike were enjoying a textbook growth in tomatoes when a hard freeze occurred April 8 followed by a frost on April 9. Young plants were severely damaged, exhibiting frozen tops and burned leaves. "The damage was more severe as you went north," says John Gavin, Bradley County Extension Agent with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service. "South of Hermitage, damage was 20 percent to 30 percent, between Hermitage and Warren the damage was 60 percent to 70 percent damage and north of Warren, the damage was 80 percent to 100 percent." According to Gavin, the only recourse for farmers and other growers was to cut the stems back on surviving plants and rehabilitate them. "There were not enough transplants left to replant--certainly none south of Hermitage--so the only thing that could be done was to nurture the tomato plants that survived and hope they thrived." The good news is the plants that survived are producing the same, succulent tomatoes Arkansans dream about over the winter. In a typical year, the tomato market in Arkansas usually ends about mid-July and there were plans this year to extend the market to the first of August. However, Gavin said that due to excessive rain the week of July 8-14, the market closed because of reduced quality from stem cracking and rain checking. The harvest was set back about two weeks so tomatoes should be supplied to stores and other outlets. However, there is an overall drop of 30 percent to 40 percent in yield. Figuring in the cost of losses and having to rework the plants, the economic impact for farmers and growers was significant. "If you want a tomato from Arkansas this year, get them while the getting is good," Gavin says. For more information about agriculture, visit extension's website, www.uaex.edu, or contact your county extension agent. The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the U of A Division of Agriculture. Date: 8/3/07
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