ABSTRACT
Effect of four different levels of water application on yield and quality of greenhouse tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv. FA-144) produced in autumn

Samuel Ortega-Farias1, Javier Márquez, Héctor Valdés y Juan H. Paillán.
 

A study was carried out from January to July 1997 in a greenhouse at the Panguilemo Experimental Station of the University of Talca, Chile (35°23’ S lat, 71°40’ W long, 110 m.s.n.m) to evaluate the effect of different levels of irrigation water on the yield and quality of tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) cv. FA-144. The drip irrigation treatments were the application of 70% (T1), 100% (T2) and 150% (T3) of the real crop evapotranspiration (ETreal) and the control was the irrigation level that farmers usually apply in the region. The ETreal was estimated using the evaporation of a modified tray (diameter = 50 cm and depth = 25 cm), whose values were corrected by a local tray coefficient and the tomato crop coefficient. The results indicated that the total yield decreased with lower quantities of water with the highest production being reached by T3 and the control. Furthermore, fruit size was significantly larger with T3 than with the other treatments. Regarding the diameter, average weight and dry matter percentage no significant differences were observed among the treatments. On the other hand, soluble solids and fruit pulp pressure increased significantly with the reduction of water.

Keywords: irrigation, crop evapotranspiration, soluble solids, fruit pulp pressure.
1 Universidad de Talca, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Servicio Integrado de Agroclimatología y Riego (SIAR), Casilla 747, Talca, Chile. E-mail: sortega@pehuenche.utalca.cl.