ISHS Acta Horticulturae 190: Symposium on Tomato Production on Arid Land
PERFORMANCE OF TOMATO VARIETIES UNDER IRRIGATION IN ZAMBIA |
| Authors: | N.A. Mnzava, W.W. Msikita |
| Abstract:
Marketable yield data for only 8 tomato cultivars field tested for 5 consecutive winter, summer and rainy seasons is reported. There was a significant season dependence in which the winter was the best and the rainy season poorest. Significant yield differences existed between cultivars in each season such that in the dry summer season the range was 32.81 t/ha in cv. 'Red Khaki' to 20.87 t/ha in cv. 'Harvester'; in the dry winter, 'Herald' yielded 73.62 t/ha while cv. 'Heinz 1370' was the lowest at 53.64 t/ha. In the rainy season however, cv. 'Roforto' at 18.44 t/ha and 'Herald' at 11.34 was best and poorest performers, respectively. On the average, cv. 'Roforto' and 'Herald' yielding 38.98 t/ha were the best, while cv.'Harvester' with 30.55 t/ha was the lowest under the prevailing meteorological conditions at Mazabuka (ca. 15°S lat.; 987 m asl.). Mean marketable tomato yields are 62.02, 26.89 and 14.21 t/ha in winter, summer and rainy seasons in that order. The overall yield of 34.37 t/ha is stipulated for tomato in Zambia. The adaptability profile as basis for cultivar recommendation is illustrated, and yield variation between seasons are discussed. | |
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