Tomato Production, Field Preparation

Field Preparation
Tomato Production

	Raised beds are used to facilitate furrow irrigation and to improve drainage. Beds can be prepared in many ways. At AVRDC, beds are made with a mechanical bed shaper and are about 1 m wide with furrows 50 cm wide. Bed height varies with the season: 20 cm in the dry season and 35 cm in the wet season.
	A mulching of rice straw, thin polyethylene plastic sheets, or other material is used to cover the soil surface. Mulches reduce fertilizer leaching, conserve moisture, and reduce weeds. If average air temperatures exceed 28°C, plastic mulch should be covered with rice straw to prevent it from getting too hot.