Articles
INFLUENCE OF RELATIVE HUMIDITY IN THE APPEARANCE OF CRACKING IN TOMATO (LYCOPERSION ESCULENTUM MIll.) FRUIT
Article number
412_35
Pages
306 – 312
Language
Abstract
Cracking of tomato fruit is a physiopathy which negatively affects the commercial qality of the fresh market product in the Spanish Mediterranean area, where it seems correlated with high humidity during winter.
Two experiments were carried out in two greenhouses, where temperatures were similar.
When fruits of trusses were enlarging, a plastic film were put over the plants, as well as microsprinklers inside it, in one of the greenhouses (so called humidified greenhouse, H.G.) in order to maintain high humidity inside the plastic cover.
A normal greenhouse (N.G.) was used as control.
Two experiments were carried out in two greenhouses, where temperatures were similar.
When fruits of trusses were enlarging, a plastic film were put over the plants, as well as microsprinklers inside it, in one of the greenhouses (so called humidified greenhouse, H.G.) in order to maintain high humidity inside the plastic cover.
A normal greenhouse (N.G.) was used as control.
In a first experiment, conducted in a autumwinter cycle using the cultivars ‘Simona’ and ‘Aguilas’, higher susceptibility to cracking of tomato fruit was demonstrated in plants grown under H.G. conditions (p=0.01) and also the cultivar ‘Simona’ with respect to ‘Aguilas’ (p=0.01). In a second experiment, carried out in a spring-summer cycle using the cultivars ‘Guay’ and ‘Río Grande’, a higher incidence of cracking under H.G. (p=0.01) was also found, ‘Guay’ showed higher susceptibility to fruit cracking than ‘Río Grande’, particularly concentric and star cracking.
Radial cracking was the most frequent type of cracking in both experiments.
Authors
J.V. Maroto, A. Barsisi, S. López, B. Pascual, J. Alegards
Keywords
greenhouses, yield, cracking types
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