ISHS Acta Horticulturae 458: International Symposium on Water Quality & Quantity-Greenhouse
WATER QUALITY, CLIMATIC ENVIRONMENT AND MINERAL NUTRITION OF TOMATO (LYCOPERSICON ESCULENTUM) IN CLOSED SOILLESS CROPPING SYSTEM |
| Authors: | D. Pivot, A. Reist, J.-M. Gillioz, J.-P. Ryser |
| Keywords: | drainage, nutrient solution adjustment, rockwool, salinity |
| Abstract:
A tomato crop (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv. Recento) grown on rockwool with fully recirculated nutrient solution yielded 33 kg.m-2 (2.2 pl.m-2) within 130 days. Nutrient concentration and balance adjustments were based on solution and tap water analyses. The latter's electrical conductivity (EC 0.3 mS.cm-1) showed slight variation but it contained sufficient Ca Mg and SO4 to supply the crop's needs for most of the growing period. NO3, SO4, Ca and Mg concentrations in the recirculated solution increased from the end of May and to the beginning of July; plant uptake resumed by the end of July. K uptake was weak from the beginning of July through to the end of August as shown by accumulation in the solution; plant uptake then increased strongly for a short period in September. The electrical conductivity of the nutrient solution fluctuated from a minimum of 1.4 (May) to a maximum of 3.13 mS.cm-1 (mid-August). The mineral contents of the fruits showed too high a K/Ca+Mg ratio. Fruit blossom-end rot occurred increasingly from the end of August, the main causes of which were high day and night air humidity, poor root renewal and excess K relative to Ca and Mg uptake. | |
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