The production and marketing of greenhouse tomatoes in the Knoxville, Tennessee, area

The objective of this study was to explore the profitability of producing tomatoes for the fresh market in a greenhouse covered with polyethylene in the Knoxville, Tennessee area.

Opinions of competent observers on the desirability of producing greenhouse tomatoes for sale in the local market differed widely at the beginning of the experiment. Some felt that the annual replacement cost of the polyethylene and the fuel costs of producing a warm season crop in such a structure would make the endeavor unprofitable; others felt the demand for this high quality product would not be sufficient to justify the high costs of production. Procedures which have furnished data for this report were designed in an attempt to find more conclusive evidence to answer those questions. These procedures are outlined in Chapter III.