On Wednesday, July 31, the closing workshop for the 2023-2024 collaborative tomato evaluation season between Minka and Bioleft was held at Julia’s farm, a member of Minka, located in Florencio Varela.
The goal of the workshop was to analyze the evaluation process for the 2023/2024 season, share technical information and plan the upcoming evaluation process for the 2024/2025 season. Members of Minka, the Cooperative for the Agroecological Production (COPA) [Cooperativa de Producción Agroecológica] of Guernica and Bioleft attended.
Just after the opening and presentation, we shared a report with technical data of the collaborative evaluation. This year 5 varieties of Italian origin were evaluated; these seeds are part of an international participatory breeding project within the Global Coalition of Open-Source Seed Initiatives (GOSSI).
Involved varieties were Cocktail Resi (red and small fruits); Primavera (red and medium fruits); Cockatail Dorada (yellow and medium fruits); Matina (red and big fruits); and Ox-Heart (red and big fruits). The first four varieties were sowed on Julia´s farm. For the Ox-Heart variety, the chosen planting site was the COPA house.
Regarding registration, we highlighted the most relevant information for each crop stage.
Sowing and emergence: varieties were sown in mid-October, with the Ox-Heart variety showing better behaviour.
Transplanting: The Ox-Heart variety was transplanted on November 15. 50 seedlings placed 40 centimetres apart. A drip irrigation system was installed and covered with mulch (dry grass). It was previously fertilized with Bocashi.
The varieties planted at Julia´s farm suffered a fungal attack before transplanting (damping off) and all the plants were lost.
Labour: During the development of the crop, the leaf axils were removed to avoid excessive vegetative growth. When the plants reached a good height (approximately 70 cm), it was necessary to place a support to keep them upright.
Growth and development: the Ox-Heart development was good, and the blooming date was December 13.
Tolerance to hydric stress, tolerance to sunburn, health and uniformity were evaluated. Pests such as “Bicho Moro” and “Chinche del Tomate” were observed.
Harvest: during fruiting, fruit thinning was carried out to promote the development of the remaining ones and the apical bud was removed to promote uniform fruit growth and control the size of the plant.
The first harvest was on January 28 and lasted until the beginning of March. A total of 160 tomatoes were harvested with more than 20kg weight. Fruits were generally uneven in shape and size.
Tasting: the Ox-Heart variety was distinguished by its juicy, good aroma and soft pulp characteristics.
We reflected on the main challenges we had addressed during the last season, taking notes to plan the following. Some of the reflections revolved around advancing the sowing date, anticipating nutritional deficiencies and anticipating the attack of pests that could harm the crop.
Last, we reviewed all the activities done and planned the upcoming ones. The 2024/2025 season will find us working together again assessing three creole tomatoes and three plum tomato varieties.
We thank Minka for working together this season and Julia for welcoming us and cooking such delicious food.