ISHS Acta Horticulturae 379: International Symposium on Quality of Fruit and Vegetables: Influence of Pre- and Post- Harvest Factors and Technology
EFFECTS OF WATER STRESS AND POTASSIUM FERTILISATION ON YIELD AND QUALITY (FLAVOUR) OF TABLE TOMATOES (LYCOPERSICON ESCULENTUM MILL.) |
| Authors: | L.J. Panagiotopoulos, R. Fordham |
| Abstract:
Experiments in border soil were carried out at Wye College in England and at Patras in Greece outdoors and under plastic house conditions. Different watering regimes produced "wet" treatments in which maximum soil moisture tension achieved levels of between -0.05 to -0.13 MPa while the contrasting maximum levels of the "dry" treatments ranged from -1.43 to -1.46 MPa. Plant water status was evaluated by the relative water content (RWC) of leaf discs. Restricting water supply to tomato plants significantly reduced total fruit yield primarily through its effect on reducing fruit size. Total soluble solids and titratable acidity which are the main factors affecting fruit flavour, were increased significantly under limited water supply. Individual fruit weight in cv "Dombito" was approximately ten times greater than that of cv "Sweet 100" but the concentrations of total soluble solids and titratable acid were significantly higher in the extracted fruit juice of cv "Sweet 100". The soils used in the reported experiments contained illite as their predominant clay mineral and high levels of exchangeable K in excess of 0.4 me/100 g soil. Under these conditions there was no evidence for a response to potassium fertilisation in terms of either fruit yield or titratable acidity. | |
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