Potato Late Blight Workshop Paper - S. Johnston Abstract in Spanish About the Author Stephen Johnston received his Ph.D. from Rutgers University in Plant Pathology in 1977. He is presently Extension Specialist in Plant Pathology at the Rutgers Agricultural and Education Center in Bridgeton, New Jersey. Johnston was an early participant in IPM program development for vegetables and has chaired the APS Extension and IPM committees. T omatoes and Late Blight Steve Johnston Rutgers University Importance of tomatoes in North America and origin of the crop.
Tomatoes are an important crop in North America.
Production occurs in Canada, the United States, and Mexico, comprising a total of 775,00 acres. The crop is grown for fresh market and for processing purposes. The center of origin of tomato is in the Andes mountains of Peru, Ecuador, and Chile. Additionally, distinctive relatives of the cultivated tomato are part of the plant life on the Galapagos Islands. There is a great diversity of cultivated forms of the tomato in this area.