Good 2013/14 season for Senegalese valley tomato production

The 2013/2014 industrial tomato production campaign in the delta and Senegal river valley began under good conditions in October 2013, albeit with a slight delay in seed planting (information confirmed by the Saed's agricultural engineers).

The Saed reminded that the country's target is 75,000 tons of fresh tomato and that the area under seed in Dagana and Podor will increase to 2,557 ha.

Producer and President of the Industrial tomato sector based in Bokhol, Abdoulaye Dieng, stated that vegetable development is satisfactory overall and in some irrigated village borders is even in the flowering and fruit phase.

Harvesting and transport to packaging plants has already begun ahead of schedule.

However, bacterial spot (a phytosanitary disease) has been observed in tomato crops in Nianga.

According to Abdoulaye Dieng, this situation is being closely monitored by researchers from ISRA and the Centre for Horticultural Development (CDH), who've come up with recommendations to control this infection which last year, alongside russet mite, caused a lot of damage to tomato crops in the valley.