Economic Analysis of Grafted Tomato Production in Sandy Soils in Northern Florida

Abstract

<jats:p>In addition to controlling soilborne diseases, grafting with selected rootstocks has the potential to enhance growth and yields in tomato (<jats:italic>Solanum lycopersicum</jats:italic>) production. However, information is rather limited regarding its economic viability in different production systems in the United States. The objective of this study was to compare the costs and returns of grafted vs. nongrafted fresh-market tomato production under common management practices in fumigated fields in northern Florida. The field trials were conducted in Live Oak, FL, during Spring 2010 and 2011. ‘Florida 47’ tomato was grafted onto two interspecific hybrid tomato rootstocks: ‘Beaufort’ and ‘Multifort’. Grafted and nongrafted ‘Florida 47’ plants were grown on fumigated raised beds with polyethylene mulch and drip irrigation using recommended commercial production practices for nutrient and pest management. The estimated costs of grafted and nongrafted transplants were $0.67 and $0.15 per plant, respectively, resulting in an additional cost of $3020.16 per acre for using grafted transplants as compared with nongrafted plants. Grafting also led to higher costs of harvesting and marketing tomato fruit as a result of yield improvement (1890 to 2166 25-lb cartons per acre for grafted plant vs. 1457 to 1526 25-lb cartons per acre for nongrafted plant). Partial budget analyses showed that using grafted transplants increased tomato production costs by $4488.03–$5189.76 per acre depending on the rootstock and growing season. However, compared with nongrafted tomato, the net farm return of grafted tomato production was increased by $253.32–$2458.24 per acre based on the tomato shipping point prices. Sensitivity analysis further demonstrated that grafting would be more profitable as the costs of grafted transplants decreased and the market tomato prices increased. These results indicated that although grafting increased the total cost of production, the increase in marketable fruit yield generated significant gross returns to offset costs associated with the use of grafted tomato transplants. Nevertheless, further research is warranted to provide more production budget and net return data about the economic feasibility of grafted tomato production based on a wide range of commercial growing conditions in Florida.</jats:p>

Economic Analysis of Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation for Open-field Fresh-market Tomato Production in Southwest and North Florida

“…Table 2 presents the production costs (the same for all three treatments) in both locations. Fixed costs, harvest costs, and marketing costs were estimated based on VanSickle and Weldon (2009) and Djidonou et al (2013). The production cost included fertilizer and irrigation costs, operating costs, and fixed costs.…”

“…Because material prices, weather conditions, and yields are always fluctuating, these results offer growers varied scenarios of net returns based on different conditions. Djidonou et al (2013) and Barrett et al (2012) also found that the net return difference between grafting and nongrafting became more substantial as tomato price increased. Similar patterns were observed in this data set in that the relative net profits of ASD treatments compared with CSF were very sensitive to tomato price.…”

“…In conducting partial budget analysis to compare different production practices/technologies such as grafting and nongrafting in tomato production, Djidonou et al (2013) found that grafting generally incurred more added costs compared with nongrafting, but it also generated significant added returns. The added returns of grafting covered the additional costs of grafting.…”

Advances in Research on Fertilization Management of Vegetable Crops

“…Grafted plants have expressed "grafting vigor", a concept that reflects that the phenotype of the grafted plant is more than the addition of the two separate phenotypes of the root stock and scion. Yet, although grafting increased the total cost of field-grown tomato production, the increase in marketable fruit yield may generate in some cases a significant gross economic return that may offset the cost of using grafted transplants (Djidonou et al 2013a). On the other hand, grafting increases production costs (two seeds are needed; survival rate during healing may be variable), requires skilled labor or expensive grafting equipment, and occasional results in external rooting of the scion (Lee 1994).…”

Conventional Industrial Robotics Applied to the Process of Tomato Grafting Using the Splicing Technique

“…On the other hand, the average cost of grafted tomato plants versus non-grafted plants varies considerably depending on several factors, mainly the productive scale of the nursery, the cost of labor, the production practices, and the cost of seeds employed, which can sometimes amount to more than 50% of the total costs [7]. In nurseries with a medium-high production volume, the costs of hand-grafted plants are estimated at approximately $0.67 for the USA, compared to $0.15 for non-grafted plants [8][9][10]. Similar prices are maintained for Asian countries, such as Japan and Korea [5], while for Spain and other European countries, the costs vary between €0.54 for hand-grafted plants compared to €0.18 for non-grafted plants [11].…”