Performance of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) varieties in north-west Himalayan region

This study was conducted under National Horticulture Mission, operational under Vivekananda Parvatiya Krishi Anusandhan Sansthan (VPKAS), ICAR, Almora at four selected project sites viz. Pukhrad, Darim, Dhaspad and Palauli to find out the suitable tomato varieties in the Kumaon hills of Uttarakhand. The common hybrids of tomato viz. Heem Sohna, Manisha and Kuber Geeta along with an open pollinated variety VLT-1 were used. Pukhrad and Darim has slightly cooler climate during crop season in comparison to Dhaspad and Palauli. The tomato yields, gross as well as net return and B: C ratio were higher at Pukhrad and Darim and lower at Dhaspad and Palauli. In case of varieties, VLT-1 gave highest yield at all sites followed by Heem Sohna. Therefore, the highest gross and net returns and B: C ratio were recorded inVLT1 and lowest in Kuber Geeta.