The yield data Indicate that at least one heat-tolerant line has potential for tomato production in the Virgin
 Islands. A repeat of the evaluation trial is required before varieties are recommended for spring or summer planting.

 Spring, 1991

 The objective of this trial was to evaluate tomato varieties for spring planting. The varieties were selected from
 seed catalogs and Included Floradade, Celebrity Hybrid, Calypso, Caraibo and UH-N69.
 Seeds were planted In Jiffy-7 pellets on February 5, 1991. Twenty eight days later, seedlings were transplanted
 to well-prepared plots measuring 5.5 x 3.7 m. Each plot consisted of three rows spaced at 1.2 m. The plants were
 spaced 46 cm apart within rows. The experimental design used was randomized complete block with four
 replications.
 Plants were fertilized with 104 kg ha-' of N, P,0 and K,0 using a 12-12-12 commercial mixture. The fertilizer was
 applied twice, Immediately after transplanting and after the first harvest.
 Weeds were controlled by hand-weeding, while insect pests were controlled by spraying with recommended
 rates of Guthion, Dipel and insecticidal soap. Benlate was sprayed to control fungal diseases. The plots were drip-
 Irrigated to maintain adequate soil moisture.
 The first harvest was May 3. Harvesting frequency increased as the number of ripe fruits increased. The last
 of 14 harvests over 39 days was performed on June 11. Towards the end of the harvesting period, a severe
 infestation of white flies and leaf miners almost damaged the crop. Fruit cracking was also observed in all varieties.
 As shown In Table 3, variety UH-N69 produced the highest total yield (45.0 t ha-'). This was followed by
 Floradade (41.7 t ha-') and Celebrity (40.3 t ha-'). The yields of these three varieties were not significantly (P<0.05)
 different. Calypso and Caraibo produced the lowest yields of 36.8 and 37.3t ha-1, respectively. Variety UH-N69 also
 produced the highest marketable yield (41.8 t ha-1), followed by Floradade (38.21 ha-). Although Celebrity ranked
 third in total yield, the percentage of marketable yield (77 percent) was the lowest. Marketable yields of Caraibo,
 UH-N69 and Floradade were higher than 90 percent.
 The largest fruit (174 g) was produced by Floradade, while Caraibo produced the smallest fruit (125 g). Fruit
 size did not differ significantly among varieties Calypso, Celebrity, Floradade and UH-N69. The highest soluble solid
 content of the fruits occurred in Celebrity (4.7 percent) and Calypso (4.5 percent). Soluble solids were less than
 4.0 percent in the other varieties (Table 3).
 The results of this evaluation trial Indicate that for late spring planting, varieties UH-N69 and Floradade are
 suitable for the U.S. Virgin Islands.


 Table 3. Total and marketable yields, and fruit quality of tomato
 varieties grown in spring, 1991, at UVI-AES.

 Fruit Soluble
 Variety Yield (t ha')' size' solids
 Total Marketable (g) (%)

 UH-N69 44.9 a 41.8 a 163 a 3.6
 Floradade 41.7 ab 38.2 ab 174 a 3.4
 Celebrity 40.3 ab 31.1 c 170 a 4.7
 Caraibo 37.3 bc 35.8 bc 125 b 3.6
 Calypso 36.8 c 33.0 c 169 a 4.5

 'Means within a column followed by the same letter are not
 significantly different by Duncan's Multiple Range Test,(P=0.05).


Spring, 1992

 The same varieties were planted in spring, 1992. Similarprocedures were followed as in spring, 1991. The crop
was planted in January and harvested in May. Yield samples were taken from a total of ten harvests.
 Total marketable yields for all varieties were generally lower In 1992 compared to yields in 1991. A severe
infestation of whiteflies and tomato pinworms together with secondary disease infection affected the yield potential