Development and Productivity of Tomato Plants under Water Deficit

Aims: The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of five soil water tensions on the development of table tomato in the vegetative and productive stages, under greenhouse conditions.

Study Design: The experiment was installed in a completely randomized design, in a 5 x 2 subdivided plot scheme, with five replicates.

Place and Duration of Study: The experiment was conducted between April and July 2014, in a greenhouse of the Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, in Alegre, ES, Brazil.

Methodology: Tomato seedlings were transplanted to the pots (50 dm3), which were arranged on the ground with a spacing of 1.0 x 0.5 m, between rows and plants, respectively. Irrigation was performed to maintain the matric potential within the range between the field capacity (10 kPa) and the required tension in each plot (15, 25, 40, 55, and 70 kPa). The plants were evaluated for height, number of flowers, root dry mass, dry mass of the aerial part of the plant, fruit yield, fruit mass, productivity, and fruit diameter.

Results: At 33 days, the plants presented higher height (98.48 cm) at 31.71 kPa (R2 = 0.99), while at 90 days the plant height decreased linearly as a function of the increase in soil water tension (R2 = 0.94). Aerial and root biomass were significantly influenced by water tension (P < .01), decreasing linearly as tension increased. The number of flowers produced per plant was inversely proportional to the water tension in the soil (P < .01). The fruit yield, productivity, fresh fruit mass, and longitudinal fruit diameter variables were significantly influenced by soil water tension (P < .01). The largest fruit diameter (62.49 mm) was obtained at 15 kPa (R2 = 0.99).

Conclusion: The table tomato responded differently to soil water tension at vegetative and productive stages.