Georgia Commercial Tomato Field Trial: 36% More Cartons Per Acre with Soil Inoculant

Results at a glance

Metric	Untreated control	Sunrise treated
Marketable yield	2,200 cartons/acre	3,000 cartons/acre (+36%)
Total cartons (20 acres)	44,000	60,000 (+16,000)
Gross revenue per acre	$26,400	$36,000
Total gross revenue	$528,000	$720,000
Product cost per acre	n/a	$115 (ROI 8,000%+)

The problem

A commercial tomato grower in Georgia wanted to increase marketable cartons per acre and strengthen root development without raising fertilizer inputs across his Spring 2019 crop. Weaker vegetation, shallow roots, and physiological disorders like blossom end rot and sun scald were reducing the percentage of fruit grading as marketable at packout. The trial evaluated whether Sunrise Soil Probiotic, an OMRI Listed and CDFA registered multi-strain microbial inoculant of beneficial bacteria and fungi, could lift commercial tomato yield, fruit quality, and gross profit per acre when paired with the grower's existing fertility program. A 20-acre treated zone was compared head-to-head against a 20-acre untreated control under matched field conditions.

Before, during, and after

Before
The untreated 20-acre control zone yielded 2,200 cartons per acre across the Spring 2019 season, producing 44,000 cartons total. At $12 per carton, that came to $26,400 per acre and $528,000 in gross revenue, a respectable Southeast commercial tomato baseline but well short of what the grower believed the ground was capable of. Untreated plants showed weaker canopy coverage, shallow root systems, and reduced vigor through the season, leaving the crop more dependent on supplemental fertilizer to maintain growth. The grower also recorded higher incidence of blossom end rot and sun scald, both physiological disorders that pulled the marketable percentage down at packout.

After
The Sunrise-treated 20-acre zone yielded 3,000 cartons per acre, an 800-carton-per-acre increase and 16,000 additional cartons across the full block. Gross profit climbed to $36,000 per acre and $720,000 total, a 36% gain in both marketable yield and gross revenue. With Sunrise costing just $115 per acre, the trial returned an ROI above 8,000%. The grower reported visibly bushier plants with stronger, deeper root systems and improved canopy coverage in the Sunrise-treated rows. Blossom end rot in both tomato and pepper was minimal to nonexistent, likely driven by improved calcium uptake from a more biologically active rhizosphere. The grower also noted reduced supplemental fertilizer use, pointing to better nutrient efficiency from the soil biology Sunrise introduced.

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Product used in this trial

Sunrise Soil Probiotic

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