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Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most extensively cultivated horticultural crops in the world. Factors such as yield, size, taste, and lycopene content are important criteria that may impact the selection of tomato cultivars for different production systems. The aim of the current study was to evaluate different slicer and cherry tomato cultivars for production under greenhouse and open field conditions. Three cultivars of slicer (BHN 964, Trust, and Geronimo) and cherry (BHN 268, Favorita, and Sakura) tomatoes were tested using randomized complete block design in 2019 and 2020. Results showed that the performance of tested cultivars differed under greenhouse verses open field conditions. Among cherry tomato cultivars in 2020, BHN 268 and Sakura produced significantly greater yield under open field conditions, while under greenhouse conditions yield of BHN 268 was the lowest. Similarly, cherry tomato fruit size from ‘BHN 268’ and ‘Sakura’ was also significantly greater than ‘Favorita’ under field conditions, whereas under greenhouse conditions, the fruit size of ‘Sakura’ was significantly greater than both ‘BHN 268’ and ‘Favorita’. Among slicer tomato cultivars, BHN 964 produced significantly greater yield and had a greater average fruit size than the other two cultivars under greenhouse conditions in 2020 while, Geronimo produced significantly similar or larger yield and had a similar average fruit size compared with BHN 964 under open field conditions. Tomatoes produced under open field conditions were rated significantly greater for taste compared with those produced under greenhouse conditions. Lycopene content in both slicer and cherry tomato cultivars was influenced by the interaction of production type, cultivars, and harvest time. Therefore, it can be concluded that BHN 964 and Geronimo were the highest in lycopene among slicer tomato cultivars for greenhouse and open field production, respectively. Among cherry tomato cultivars, BHN 268 was the highest in lycopene for open field production and Sakura for greenhouse production. Additionally, open field–produced tomatoes taste better than greenhouse-produced tomatoes, but lycopene content may be constrained for mid- and late-season fruits due to high temperature conditions under open field conditions.

Six experiments were conducted on ‘Genovese’ basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) in Oklahoma to study the feasibility of establishing basil in the field by direct seeding. Variables examined included use of raw seed or pelleted seed, seeding depth, seeding rate, and comparison with transplanting. Direct seeding was done using a hand-pushed planter (first four experiments), a tractor-drawn planter (fifth experiment), or both types of planter (sixth experiment). Plants were destructively harvested by machine. Stands were established successfully using transplants or using raw or pelleted seed with a hand-pushed planter. Planting at a depth of ≈10 mm resulted in lower yields than planting at a depth where seeds barely were covered with soil (≈5 mm). Seeding rates of ≈80 seeds/m led to higher final stands and higher yields than those obtained with seeding rates of ≈30 seeds/m. These studies were not designed to test effects of plant population on basil yield, but data suggest that final stands above the common recommendation of one plant per 30.5 cm in rows spaced 90 cm apart may result in yield increases. Plots direct-seeded with the tractor-drawn planter failed to establish in the fifth experiment. Plants established using pelleted seed with the hand-pushed planter did not differ from plants established by transplanting in cumulative yields in the sixth experiment, even though the transplanting treatment allowed one additional harvest. The lowest cumulative yields in the sixth experiment came from plants established using pelleted seed with the tractor-drawn planter. Thus, direct seeding of basil was successful only with a hand-pushed planter. While direct seeding is a potentially viable alternative to transplanting for basil stand establishment, there is a need to identify a tractor-drawn seeder that can plant basil at the required shallow depth. In the interim, large-scale producers of basil should continue to use transplants to obtain reliable stand establishment.

Field experiments were conducted at Bixby, OK, in 2007. Four compost treatments and an unamended control were compared for field production of eight (spring) or four (fall) red radish (Raphanus sativus L.) cultivars. Treatments were either spent mushroom substrate or yard waste compost spread over plots to an average depth of 2.5 or 5 cm and preplant-incorporated ≈5 to 7 cm deep. Radishes were direct-seeded into prepared plots and subsequently grown using standard cultural practices. Samples of median-sized marketable storage roots were shredded and juice was analyzed in the laboratory for pungency as measured by isothiocyanate (ITC) concentration (primarily 4-methylthio-3-butenyl isothiocyanate). In the spring, mean ITC concentrations ranged from 28.2 to 36.8 μmol per 100 g juice in storage roots from the four compost treatments, and differences were not significant (α = 0.05). There were not enough storage roots to analyze from the unamended control plots as a result of herbicide toxicity. Cultivars differed in mean concentration of ITCs, ranging from a high of 52.9 μmol per 100 g juice for ‘Cherry Belle’ to a low of 19.2 μmol per 100 g juice for ‘Crunchy Royale’. In the fall, mean ITC concentrations ranged from 10.5 to 24.6 μmol per 100 g juice in storage roots from the four compost treatments. Differences were not significant (α = 0.05), and there were no differences from the control value of 17.5 μmol per 100 g juice. The mean ITC concentration was 19.9 μmol per 100 g juice for the four cultivars tested in the fall, and the cultivars did not differ. Results indicate that the tested compost treatments did not affect pungency of red radish storage roots as measured by concentrations of ITCs.