COMPARISON OF FOUR SUBSTRATES ON THE GROWTH AND QUALITY OF TOMATOES

Environmentally friendly substrates are the main tendency in soilless culture.
The inorganic substrates rockwool and perlite generate high yield and quality difficult to overcome by the organic substrates.
Potential materials require a specific management to improve qualities of the final product.
A comparison, between rockwool (R), perlites plus carbonized rice hull (PCRH), cypress bark (CB) and coconut coir (CD) was carried out in a greenhouse using a small type tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv.
T-148) in a summer experiment.
Polystyrene beds (400 x 25 x 18 cm) covered with a white/black sheet was used.
Nine plants per bed were transplanted and irrigated with a Otsuka solution with pH and EC of 6.4 and 2.4 mS cm^-1 respectively.
PCRH mixture presented the higher productivity between treatments.
The high total soluble solids content (°Brix) was represented by CD treatment.
Non-marketable fruits due to cracking were 11.3 and 10.1% in R and PCRH. Non-marketable fruits due to blossom-end rot (BER) presented only CD with 11% of total production.

International Symposium on Growing Media and Hydroponics

H. Inden, A. Torres

carbonized rice husk, cypress bark, perlite, rockwool, tomato

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2004.644.27