1. Tomatoes An Overview of the Tomato Industry in Georgia
Georgia Agricultural Education Curriculum Office
Dr. Frank Flanders and Catrina Kennedy
October 2006

2. Objectives Students will be able to: Identify tomato products.
Describe the four different types of tomatoes.
Identify the states with the most tomato production.
Describe where tomatoes stand amongst other Georgia commodities.

3. Why the Tomato Industry is Important in Georgia
Tomatoes are one of the state's top cash crops.
Available throughout much of the year, tomatoes are grown in southwest Georgia.
Native to the Andes Mountains, tomatoes were introduced into Central America by prehistoric Indian migrations.

4. Tomato Products
Soup
Sauces
Ketchup
Feed for broilers

5. US Tomato Production

6. Georgia’s Commodity Value
Item
Rank by
sale
Sales ($1000)
Percent of total
sales
Poultry and eggs 1
2,780,214
56.6
Vegetables, melons, and potatoes 2
383,556
7.8
Cotton and cotton seed 3
318,013
6.5
Nursery, greenhouse, floriculture 4
315,324
6.4
Other crops and hay 5
246,936
Cattle and calves 6
240,070
4.9
Milk and other dairy products from
cows 7
212,720
4.3
Fruits, tree nuts and berries 8
122,151
2.5
Grains, oilseeds, dry beans, and dry
peas 9
102,464
2.1
Tobacco 10
89,058
1.8

7. Types of Tomatoes
Indeterminate
Determinate
Cherry
Grape

8. Interesting Facts
Tomatoes are not vegetables, but are fruit (or more accurately, berries)!
The tomato was thought to be poisonous until the 1800’s by North Americans and Northern Europeans.
Ketchup originally started out as ketsiap, a 7th century Chinese sauce made with fish entrails, vinegar, and spices. It wasn’t until 1792 that tomatoes were used as an ingredient.

9. Assessment Tomatoes are one of the state's top ____.
What state in number one in tomato production?
What are the four types of tomatoes?
Name products produced from tomatoes?
Where are tomatoes native to?

10. Answers Cash crops Florida
Indeterminate, determinate, cherry and grape
Answers will vary
Andes Mountains