THE EFFECT OF SOME CULTURAL PRACTICES ON BROMIDE RESIDUES IN TOMATO GROWN IN METHYL BROMIDE TREATED SOIL

During a five-year period several greenhouse experiments were carried out in which the feasibility of different cultural practices, including method of growing, fertilization, watering, mulching etc., was evaluated to reduce the bromide residues in tomato fruits after soil fumigation with methyl bromide.
Growing tomato by ring culture, the method still very much common in Poland, provided a well marked decrease of inorganic bromide content in the fruits, ranging from 13 to 51 %, on average 27 %. Fertilization of nonleached soil with KCI reduced the bromide residues in tomato fruits by 15–50 % comparing to KNO₃ or K₂SO₄ fertilization.
Application of KCI on leached soil had less pronounced effect on reduction of bromide residues (6–28 %). Amendment mof the soil after fumigation with peat or fine brown coal had no clear impact on bromide concentration in tomato fruits.
High level of NPK fertilization mentained both pre- and postplanting, resulted in a significant increase of bromide uptake by tomato plants compared with high preplanting and low postplanting fertilization or reverse fertilization program.
In general, high soil salinity enhanced the extent of bromide uptake.
Drip irrigation significantly reduced bromide residues only at low soil salinity.
A screening of 15 tomato cultivars revealed profound varietal differentiation in bromide accumulation.
Tested cultivars, grown under the same conditions, differed even sixfold in their bromide concentrations.
In most cases the propensity of various cultivars to accumulate bromide ion was inconsistent from year to year.

I International Symposium on Solanacea for Fresh Market

C. Slusarski, J. Czapski

Lycopersicon, soil fumigation, cultivar, growing method, fertilization

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1995.412.67