TOMATO RESPONSE TO SALINITY IN SUBSTRATE CULTURE

This research was conducted in an unheated greenhouse during autumn and spring seasons in 1998 and 1999 to determine the effect of salinity on yield and water consumption of tomato grown in substrate culture.
Cultivar 870 F₁ were grown in autumn season.
Sowing and planting dates were July 20 and August 28, 1998. In spring, cv.Target seeds were sown on January 4 and plants were transferred to substrates on March 12, 1999. Plants were grown in the pots filled with perlite and fed with a complete nutrient solution at the electrical conductivity of 2 (control), 4, 6 and 8 dS m^-1 by adding NaCl.
The results showed that fruit yield and water consumption of tomato plants varied according to the treatments and to the growing seasons.The highest yield was obtained from the control treatment in both seasons (14.8 kg m^-2 autumn, 16.2 kg
m^-2 spring). Yield decreased dramatically with the increase of salinity.
The yield decrement was about 5.8% per each dS m^-1 EC in the nutrient solution in autumn whereas it was 9.0% per 1 dS m^-1 EC in spring.
Plant water consumption varied between 188.4 and 238.4 mm in autumn and 352.8 and 462.0 mm in spring.
On the other hand there was a negative correlation between water consumption and EC of water.

International Symposium on Techniques to Control Salination for Horticultural Productivity

I.H. Tüzel

Tomato, salinity, substrate culture

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2002.573.56