INFLUENCE OF VARIOUS SOIL MOISTURE LEVELS ON THE PRODUCTION AND QUALITY OF SOME HORTICULTURAL CROPS IN A SUBIRRIGATED GREENHOUSE

In order to study the effects of different soil moisture levels on some horticultural crops in two greenhouses lettuce, tomato (heated and cold soil) and pea were grown in plots where differing soil water contents were kept constant for the whole trial period.

Marketable yields resulted to be related with the soil moisture levels and were obtained second grade parabolic models for pea and tomato in cold soil (higher sensitivity to soil water content variations) and fourth grade models [y-c = a(b+x)⁴] for tomato and lettuce in heated soil (yields relatively constant about the maximum for a wide range of soil moisture content).

In spite of the differences among models and their parameters, for values of soil water content between 20% (0.068 MPa) and 22.3% (0.046 MPa) all the tested crops showed marketable production to be within 5% of the maximum yield value.

An analysis of the most important qualitative characters was also carried out showing significant relations with soil moisture content for some parameters.

IV International Symposium on Water Supply and Irrigation in the Open and under Protected Cultivation

C.F. Cereti, M. Acutis, C. Grignani, A. Reyneri, D. Vanzetti

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1988.228.18