Articles
Indoor growing of two grape tomato cultivars in two different-size DWC hydroponic systems
Article number
1423_41
Pages
325 – 330
Language
English
Abstract
In a previous study on indoor tomato cultivation, we investigated the impact of LED lamps and FR bulbs.
We used normal-sized fruit varieties and a nutrient film technique (NFT) system, ultimately finding that the treatment with only LED lamps yielded the best results in terms of fruit yield per plant.
However, recognizing the potential efficiency of hydroponic tomato cultivation using a tomato cultivar that produces cherry or grape-sized fruits, we aimed to grow two grape-sized tomato cultivars in different-sized deep water culture (DWC) hydroponic containers.
Our objective was to determine which container size would yield the optimal response.
In May 2023, we transplanted orange and yellow grape tomatoes into two DWC systems: one with a capacity of 4.4 L and another with 9.3 L. Each container held 2 plants.
The plants received 12 h day‑1 of oxygenation of the nutrient solution and 12 h day‑1 of illumination with LED lamps.
We conducted 3 replicates (containers) for each tomato cultivar.
Six months after initiating this experiment, we observed the following results: Orange cultivar (DWC 4.4 L): mature fruits harvested: 8. Immature fruits harvested: 41. SPAD units in leaves: 48.5. Shoot weight: 168.3 g.
Orange cultivar (DWC 9.3 L): mature fruits harvested: 51. Immature fruits harvested: 89. SPAD units in leaves: 52.9. Shoot weight: 259.2 g.
Yellow cultivar (DWC 4.4 L): mature fruits harvested: 3. Immature fruits harvested: 39. SPAD units in leaves: 48.1. Shoot weight: 192 g.
Yellow cultivar (DWC 9.3 L): mature fruits harvested: 6. Immature fruits harvested: 95. SPAD units in leaves: 52.5. Shoot weight: 300.5 g.
Definitely, the best responses were found in the 9.3 L hydroponic system for both grape-sized tomato cultivars.
We used normal-sized fruit varieties and a nutrient film technique (NFT) system, ultimately finding that the treatment with only LED lamps yielded the best results in terms of fruit yield per plant.
However, recognizing the potential efficiency of hydroponic tomato cultivation using a tomato cultivar that produces cherry or grape-sized fruits, we aimed to grow two grape-sized tomato cultivars in different-sized deep water culture (DWC) hydroponic containers.
Our objective was to determine which container size would yield the optimal response.
In May 2023, we transplanted orange and yellow grape tomatoes into two DWC systems: one with a capacity of 4.4 L and another with 9.3 L. Each container held 2 plants.
The plants received 12 h day‑1 of oxygenation of the nutrient solution and 12 h day‑1 of illumination with LED lamps.
We conducted 3 replicates (containers) for each tomato cultivar.
Six months after initiating this experiment, we observed the following results: Orange cultivar (DWC 4.4 L): mature fruits harvested: 8. Immature fruits harvested: 41. SPAD units in leaves: 48.5. Shoot weight: 168.3 g.
Orange cultivar (DWC 9.3 L): mature fruits harvested: 51. Immature fruits harvested: 89. SPAD units in leaves: 52.9. Shoot weight: 259.2 g.
Yellow cultivar (DWC 4.4 L): mature fruits harvested: 3. Immature fruits harvested: 39. SPAD units in leaves: 48.1. Shoot weight: 192 g.
Yellow cultivar (DWC 9.3 L): mature fruits harvested: 6. Immature fruits harvested: 95. SPAD units in leaves: 52.5. Shoot weight: 300.5 g.
Definitely, the best responses were found in the 9.3 L hydroponic system for both grape-sized tomato cultivars.
Authors
M.A. Bustamante, A.J. Bustamante
Keywords
Solanum lycopersicum, DWC hydroponics
Online Articles (43)