DURHAM, N.H. - University of New Hampshire researchers have received a three-year grant for nearly $250,000 that will substantially expand research to improve nutrient and pest management in high tunnel tomato production.

High tunnels are inexpensive, greenhouse-like structures used to extend the growing season and increase crop quality and yields without increasing cultivated land area.

"High tunnel production is economically critical to Northeastern vegetable growers, and tunnel production area is increasing rapidly. Developing fertilization guidelines based on research will ensure growers apply nutrient levels that maintain excellent crop quality without wasting nutrients," said Becky Sideman, a NH Agricultural Experiment Station researcher and extension sustainable horticulture, who is overseeing the project. 

"In addition, pests reproduce quickly and thrive in high tunnels, especially in the absence of natural enemies. However, certain plants provide conditions that support beneficial arthropods, promoting sustainable, low-cost integrated pest management while fostering biodiversity. Unfortunately, there are several barriers to grower adoption of integrated pest management, including limited knowledge about pest identification, how to use biocontrol effectively, and a lack of confidence that it works," she said.

New Hampshire grows more tomatoes each year than any of the six New England states, according to the New England Field Office of the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. There are more than 2,000 growers Northern New England and surrounding states that produce tomatoes in-ground in high tunnels. High tunnel tomatoes represent a significant portion of their annual revenue.

The project will take place at the experiment station's Woodman Horticultural Research Farm, Grafton County Farm in North Haverhill, and the University of Maine's Highmoor Farm in Monmouth, ME. Other collaborators include researchers at the University of Vermont, Pennsylvania State University, and the Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners' Association. The project is supported by a grant from Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE).

The SARE grant expands the experiment station's research on high tunnel tomato production. In the last two years, Sideman and Connor Eaton, a graduate student in plant biology, examined the effects of using potassium on organic tomatoes grown in five high tunnels at three research sites in New Hampshire and Maine. Potassium is an important macronutrient that affects tomato yield and quality.

"This research is critical in improving our understanding of the interaction between fertilizer applications, soil testing, and crop yields in high tunnel tomatoes, one of the most important crops for New Hampshire's local food industry. Our work aims to improve yields, increasing our local food supply and increasing gains for farmers," Eaton said.

This material is based upon work supported by the NH Agricultural Experiment Station, through joint funding of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under award number 228522, and the state of New Hampshire.

Founded in 1887, the NH Agricultural Experiment Station at the UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture is UNH's original research center and an elemental component of New Hampshire's land-grant university heritage and mission.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 13,000 undergraduate and 2,500 graduate students.

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One of the high tunnel research sites at the experiment station's Woodman Horticultural Research Farm at UNH. Credit: Lori Wright/NHAES