Jessica Awrey will defend her PhD thesis "Long‐term cover crop impacts on processing tomato production: fruit yield and quality, disease, and plant N content" 

Advisor: Dr. Laura Van Eerd

Advisory Committee: Dr. Cheryl Trueman & Dr. Kimberley Schneider

Everyone is welcome.

If you would like to attend, please inquire with our Graduate Program Assistant (ses.gradsec@uoguelph.ca [1])


Abstract:

Previous research on the long‐term cover crop experiment at Ridgetown, Ontario (LTccExpt) demonstrated greater soil health with cover crops than without, which led to the hypothesis that tomato health would be enhanced. In 2019, the control had greater defoliation and percent red fruit compared to the radish treatment, indicating earlier fruit maturity and foliar disease when grown without cover crops. In 2019, tomatoes grown without cover crops had greater incidence and severity of anthracnose fruit rot than those grown after cover crops; though, in 2020, results were similar but not significant. Consistent with previous research at LTccExpt, fruit yields with cover crops were greater than or equivalent to yields without cover crops. Long‐term annual cover crop adoption (grown nine times over twelve years) did not negatively influence tomato production, and there was some indication of enhanced fruit quality (lesions, pH, soluble solids, colour) and nutritional composition (micronutrients, macronutrients, antioxidant activity).