Development of Biologically-based Integrated Pest Management Systems for Production of Tomatoes in the Field

A field experiment was conducted to compare the effectiveness of microbial control agents and chemical pesticides when used on field tomatoes. Treatments included all combinations of chemical, biological or no control of either diseases or insect pests. Irrigation problems prevented uniform development of the crop in the field, and caused one experimental block to have significantly lower yield than others. Low yields may have masked differences among treatments, among which no significant differences were observed in yields. Treatments receiving biological and chemical control of diseases were not significantly different for southern blight, but were different for early blight incidence.