TOMATO HARVEST has begun on about 1,200 acres of tomatoes grown in Arkansas this year, with most of the acreage in the southeast corner of the state.

“Farmers started harvesting their crops in June and will continue through the middle of July,” says John Gavin, Bradley County, Ark., staff chair for the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.

In years past, growers have had to deal with crop loss due to tomato spotted wilt virus and fusarium wilt.