EFFECTS OF ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY AND MINERAL NUTRITION ON FRUIT RADIAL

Fruit softness, radial cracking and russeting have become major quality problems in summer tomato production.
Three experiments on electrical conductivity (EC) and composition of nutrient solutions were conducted to address these problems.
High EC, whether constant or variable, increased fruit firmness and reduced fruit russeting and radial cracking in summer production.
High Ca reduced fruit firmness and fruit russeting while Mg generally increased fruit firmness.
Magnesium increased fruit russeting only at low concentration of calcium.
Magnesium also slightly increased radial cracking.
It appeared that high EC might have increased fruit tissue rigidity and plasticity (overall strength) and thus resulted in firm fruit and low russeting.
High Ca might have increased only tissue plasticity (integrity) and thus resulted in low russeting, while high Mg might have increased only fruit tissue rigidity, not plasticity, and thus resulted in firmer fruit and more cracking.

XXVI International Horticultural Congress: Protected Cultivation 2002: In Search of Structures, Systems and Plant Materials for Sustainable Greenhouse Production

X. Hao, A.P. Papadopoulos

Lycopersicon esculentum, electrical conductivity, calcium, magnesium, fertigation, firmness, russeting, cracking

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2004.633.44