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AGRICULTURE REPORT - Growing 'Love Apples,' Better Known1 These Days as Tomatoes
By Mario Ritter
Broadcast: Tuesday, October 18, 2005
I'm Shep O'Neal with the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
Plant scientists consider them fruit. Most other people think of them as vegetables. Whatever you call tomatoes, there are many different kinds of this popular and healthy food.
Each plant can produce about four to seven kilograms2 of fruit. Growers can harvest a big crop with little space. Full plants with fruit take about eighty days to grow from seed. Cold weather can damage young plants, so they are often grown inside for four to six weeks.
A tomato plant can grow several thick stems3 from its base. Only two or three stems should be kept. From the stems come smaller growths5 called suckers. New suckers that grow between the stems should be removed. There should be a full meter between plants with three stems, a little less for plants with two stems.
There are two general groups of plants. Small tomato plants grow to about one meter. They can be planted rather close together. Some short kinds do not require special care and are often harvested by machines.
Large tomato plants can grow over two meters tall. They also provide larger fruit. These plants need support. One method uses wires run along both sides of a row of plants. The wires help hold the suckers and fruit. The wiring is secured6 to strong posts on either side of the row. The wires are raised as the plants and fruit grow.
People who grow only a few plants can place wire cages around each one. The cage can be made of wire fence7 material. The cage helps the plant grow taller and to produce a bigger crop.
Tomatoes often need extra calcium8 or the fruit may be ruined. Adding lime9 to the soil can prevent this problem.
Dry conditions may also ruin fruit. Tomatoes need water regularly10. The soil should never dry out completely11. Dried grass or leaves placed around the plant can help hold water in the soil and control the growth4 of unwanted plants.
Tomatoes are native to South America. The tomato is a member of the potato family. The leaves of the plant are poisonous, like the leaves of its relatives. Before the middle of the eighteen hundreds, people grew tomatoes only as pretty plants. They called the bright red fruit a "love apple," but would not eat it.
The Web12 site of the Cooperative13 Extension14 Service at North Carolina State University has more information about growing tomatoes. The address is c-e-s dot n-c-s-u dot e-d-u (ces.ncsu.edu).
This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.
1 known | |
adj.大家知道的;知名的,已知的 | |
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2 kilograms | |
n.千克( kilogram的名词复数 ) | |
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3 stems | |
n.(花草的)茎( stem的名词复数 );词干;(高脚酒杯的)脚;烟斗柄v.遏制[阻止](液体的流动等)( stem的第三人称单数 );封堵;遏止 | |
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4 growth | |
n.生长,栽培 | |
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5 growths | |
n.生长( growth的名词复数 );增加;生长物;经济增长 | |
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6 secured | |
adj. 无虑的, 安心的, 安全的 adj. 牢靠的, 稳妥的 vt. 固定, 获得, 使...安全 vi. (海上工作人员)停止工作 vi. (船)抛锚, 停泊 | |
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7 fence | |
n.围墙,剑术;v.用篱笆围住,练习剑术,防护;[计算机]栅栏 | |
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8 calcium | |
n.钙(化学符号Ca) | |
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9 lime | |
n.石灰,酸橙,酸橙树,粘鸟胶,钙;vt.施石灰,涂上粘性物质,沾上粘鸟胶 | |
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adv.有规则地,一丝不苟地,正式地 | |
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adv.完全地,十分地,全然 | |
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12 web | |
n.网,蛛丝,蹼,织物,圈套,卷筒纸;vi.生蹼,形成网;vt.织蜘蛛网于,使落入圈套 | |
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13 cooperative | |
adj.有合作意向的,合作的;n.合作社(企业)等 | |
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14 extension | |
n.伸长,扩大,伸展;延长,延期;延长部分,扩大部分;电话分机 | |
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