Effects of environmental control using groundwater and full open-roof vinyl house on yield in long-term cultivation of three cultivars of tomatoes in Akita, one of the coldest regions in Japan

Tomatoes are mainly grown during summer-autumn cropping in Akita, one of the coldest regions in Japan.
However, year-round tomato production is required in this region.
Thus, high temperatures in summer, and low temperatures and sunlight in winter are factors to overcome.
Environmental controls to solve these problems are costly and impractical.
Therefore, we examined environmental controls to enable year-round tomato cultivation of three tomato cultivars, using groundwater for heat exchange, air conditioning, and water thermal screening in a full-open-roof vinyl house.
Average temperatures (ATs) increased by approximately 3°C from June to August relative to outside temperatures but remained at approximately 27°C. However, from September to December, the AT remained at approximately 16°C, 5-15°C higher than the outside temperature.
The monthly yield, average fruit weight, and number of fruits were compared among ‘Momotaro 8’ (M-8), ‘CF Momotaro York’ (M-Y), and ‘CF Momotaro Haruka’ (M-H). The harvest period is from June to December.
June had the highest M-8 yield, followed by M-Y, and tended to be the lowest in M-H. In August and September, the number of fruits and average fruit weight decreased under high temperatures, such that yield was significantly reduced; however, the yield was higher in M-Y, followed by M-8, whereas it tended to be lower in M-H. However, yields in November and December were higher for M-H than for M-8 and M-Y. A total yield target of 17 t 10 a^‑1 could not be achieved for these cultivars (M-8 and M-Y was approximately 12 t 10 a^‑1, and M-H was 11 t 10 a^‑1). The results of this study suggest that year-round cultivation is possible by taking measures against high summer temperatures, even though the target yield was not reached.

IV Asian Horticultural Congress – AHC2023

K. Ohara, K. Sugawara, T. Umebayashi, H. Kanda, H. Imanishi, N. Kitamoto, Y. Suzuki, Y. Yoshida

growth characteristics, growth technique, natural energy, vegetable

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2024.1404.174