Submit Manuscript

Asian Journal of Crop Science

Year: 2013 | Volume: 5 | Issue: 3 | Page No.: 275-285
Facebook Twitter Digg Reddit Linkedin StumbleUpon E-mail

Article Trend

Total views 85

Authors

Hesham Abdel-Razzak

Abdullah Ibrahim

Mahmoud Wahb-Allah

Abdullah Alsadon

Keywords

Research Article

Response of Cherry Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme) to Pruning Systems and Irrigation Rates under Greenhouse Conditions

Hesham Abdel-Razzak, Abdullah Ibrahim, Mahmoud Wahb-Allah and Abdullah Alsadon
Prober agricultural practices such as irrigation and pruning have been reported to enhance yield quality and quantity of vegetables. This study aims to determine the most efficient pruning system and optimum irrigation rate on cherry tomato to achieve the maximum production and high fruit quality in protected agriculture. Two pruning systems, one and two branches and four irrigation rates, 100% (T1, full water), 80% (T2), 60% (T3) and 40% (T4) of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) were compared. The highest productivity in plants pruned to two branches was related to the increase in fruit cluster than that detected in plants pruned to one branch. Whereas, the plants pruned to one branch exhibited improved fruit quality (dry matter, titratable acidity, vitamin C, total soluble solids and total sugars). The highest irrigation rates, T1 and T2, produced the highest fruit yield, although the increased water stress treatment (T4) enhanced the fruit quality traits. Water-use efficiency increased with two branches pruning system and under water stress conditions. Irrigation treatment T2 was considered more appropriate for optimizing water-use efficiency without any significant reduction in the total fruit yield. This study demonstrated that the best results of interaction effects for increasing fruit production and conserving water were obtained by pruning cherry tomato plants to two branches under the T2 irrigation rate. Fruit weight and size were increased by pruning the plants to one branch under the T2 irrigation rate. On the other hand, pruning the plants to one branch under the lowest irrigation rate (T4) resulted in high fruit quality levels. This trend is relatively important under semi-arid environmental conditions, where water shortage and thus water costs are continuously increasing.
PDF Fulltext XML References Citation

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *