ISHS Acta Horticulturae 542: VII International Symposium on the Processing Tomato
EFFECT OF TIME OF ROTOCULTIVATION ON YIELD OF PROCESSING TOMATOES (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) |
| Authors: | C.A. Argerich, L.M. Poggi |
| Keywords: | Processing tomatoes, cultural practices, rotocultivation, tillage |
| Abstract:
Little information exists about the effect of time of rotocultivation on tomato crops. Farmers are reluctant to use the rotocultivator early because they are too busy with other operations or they fear seedlings in the middle of the bed cannot be properly irrigated when the resulting furrow is moved further away from the seed line. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the influence that the time between rotocultivation and transplanting has on crop production. The study was conducted during the 1997–98, 1998–99, and 1999–2000 seasons. The treatments involved the use of the rotocultivator 7, 15, 30, and 45°days after transplanting. During 1999–2000, cultivation 7 days after transplanting replaced the 45-day treatment. All treatments were fertilized with 200 kg/ha of urea, and no other cultivation was used. Experimental design was completely randomized with five replications. Harvest began when fruit were 90% ripened. Yield of red, green, cull, overripe, sunburned, and blossom-end-rot fruit were analyzed by ANOVA and trend analysis with an  °=°0.05.
A significant linear yield reduction of 532 kg/ha per day occurred when rotocultivation was delayed from 7 to 45 days.
| |
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files) | |
