Basic details of the production system The typical size of a summer tomato plot in the greater Jessore area is only about 10 decimals, or 0.04 hectare (ha). Farmers generally plant summer tomato seedbeds in mid-May before the advent of the monsoon rains, although some may plant up to mid-June; seedlings are typically transplanted into the field after one month of age. Raised beds are formed upon which farmers transplant the seedlings because the moisture level in the soil must be moderated to avoid water logging. The cultivation period can potentially last into February of the following year, but doing so prevents an alternative Rabi (winter) season crop to be grown. Therefore, many farmers tend to cultivate summer tomato up to December (six to seven months duration), during which time as many as four distinct fruiting periods may be realized. In order to protect tomato plants from damage caused by intense precipitation events, farmers construct a framework made of bamboo poles and slats onto which a hoop-shaped roof of polyethylene is attached (at about 2 metres height). When the rainy season passes in late September, farmers remove the polythene roof to allow the tomato plants to continue trellising past the top of the structure. To provide support to the plants, and to avoid direct contact of fruit and foliage with the soil, a smaller bamboo trellis structure is placed within the larger superstructure. Staking can increase fruit yield and size; it also reduces the incidence of soil-borne diseases and makes pest control and harvesting easier. Cultivation of tomato in the Bangladeshi summer faces several difficulties besides the risk of storm damage and extreme temperatures. Because of the unique climactic and soil conditions under which summer tomato is grown, the crop is more susceptible to pest and disease infestation than tomato grown during the cooler, dryer winter season. Key insect pests encountered include white flies (Bemisia spp.), which are capable of vectoring yellow tomato leaf-curl virus and which can be particularly problematic for the crop. Less significant, yet present, is a complex of Lepidopteran tomato fruit borer species including Spodopera spp.and Helicoveroa spp. The perception of farmers in terms of yield-loss risk is particularly strong given their investment in the crop, however, and they therefore frequently resort to the use of insecticides to control pests. The problem is that the agro-chemicals employed, and their rates and frequency of application, are typically based on improper recommendations from dealers (Rashid et al., 2003), as well as calendar-based spraying intervals regardless of actual need. As such, one objective of this study is to assess the economic consequences of insecticide use in summer tomato production as as tarting point for building an appropriate and responsive framework for improved management in the future, one which optimizes cultural (rather than chemical) control, as with integrated pest management (IPM) principles. Growth hormones are employed to ensure fruit setting under excessive temperatures. This is a key component of the production process and helps the farmer obtain larger fruit and higher yields; even under favorable growing conditions (15– 25°C), hormone spraying can increase crop yields (Chen and Hanson, 2001). While insecticides can pose serious environmental and human health risks when used improperly, hormone application is relatively benign although it is potentially costly for farmers if not applied efficiently. Study Area / Evaluation Metrics Employed During 2011, the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia in Bangladesh project provided basic training to farmers in Jessore Sadar and Monirampur upazilas (i.e., subdistricts of Jessore District) in an attempt to scale-out, learn from, and refine summer tomato production. Subsequently, 18 of these farmers established summer tomato plots in the Arabpur union under Jessore Sardar upazila. These farmers agreed to provide detailed production information in order to analyse the constraints and opportunities presented by summer tomato; as such, the agro-economic data analyzed herein allow estimation of the economic profitability of summer tomato cultivation under actual field conditions. For the purposes of this study, the 18 farmers are stratified by the number of fruiting periods (flowering events) from which they harvested tomatoes during the course of the year: 7 farmers harvested fruits from all four flowering events possible; while 4, 5, and 2 farmers harvested respectively from 3, 2, and 1 fruit flowerings. The economic analyses presented in this article are based upon the calculation of average returns from the yield and sales of tomatoes, and average cost values for all labour and material inputs, for all 18 farmers collectively and as stratified by the number of flowerings. Concurrent input-output market prices reported by the farmers were considered as the basis for the cost and return analysis; all monetary values presented in the article are converted to US dollars at an exchange rate of US$ 1 = 80 Bagladeshi Taka (BDT). All empirical data are presented on a per hectare basis, although it should be noted that the land area employed for cultivating summer tomatoes is typically very small (often 0.04 ha or less). Benefit-cost ratios were calculated for each of the flowering stages, and collectively for all 18 farmers. Salvage values were considered for the material costs incurred for the construction of the bamboo infrastructure by assuming two years longevity of the basic inputs (e.g., polyethylene plastic sheeting, bamboo). Profitability was also estimated by calculating the gross margin (i.e., total revenue over variable cost) and the marginal rate of return. Data were analyzed using marginal analysis (MA) under a partial budgeting system. MA is the process of calculating marginal rates of return between treatments options (or different tillage options for machinery studies) by proceeding in steps from a lower cost treatment to that of the next higher cost, and comparing those rates of return to the minimum rate of return acceptable to farmers. The marginal rate of return (MRR) is the ratio of marginal gross margin (i.e., the change in net benefits) and the marginal cost (i.e., the change in net costs) expressed as a percentage. The MRR can easily be interpreted as the percent return to invested capital, after the capital has been repaid. Additionally, a comparative profitability assessment was made with respect to transplanted rainy season/Aman‘rice (T.Aman), which is the primary crop grown during the late summer/autumn cropping season during which summer tomato is cultivated.