ISHS Acta Horticulturae 481: International Symposium on Growing Media and Hydroponics
TOMATO PRODUCTION IN OPEN OR CLOSED ROCKWOOL CULTURE SYSTEMS WITH NFT OR ROCKWOOL NUTRIENT FEEDINGS |
| Authors: | A.P. Papadopoulos, X. Hao, J.C. Tu, J. Zheng |
| Keywords: | Lycopersicon esculentum, yield, quality |
| Abstract:
Tomato cv. ‘Trust’ was grown in an open rockwool system with standard rockwool nutrient feeding (conventional method), and in two closed rockwool systems with the standard rockwool nutrient feeding or NFT nutrient feeding from Jan. to Aug of 1996. More than 10 kg of marketable fruit per plant (33 kg m-2) was produced in all three culture systems during the four-month harvest period. There were no significant differences in plant growth and development, and in the overall (whole season) marketable yield and fruit quality among the three culture systems. The open rockwool culture system had a significantly higher percentage of unmarketable fruit than the closed rockwool culture systems in the first month of harvest. In the last month of fruit harvest, the closed rockwool system with NFT nutrient feeding had significantly higher marketable yield than the closed rockwool system with the standard rockwool nutrient feeding. Because of the savings in water and fertilizer, the closed rockwool culture system with the NFT nutrient feeding appears to be a very promising culture system. This study indicated that the closed rockwool culture system with appropriate nutrient feedings can reach similar or better yield and quality than the conventional open rockwool system. | |
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