ISHS Acta Horticulturae 542: VII International Symposium on the Processing Tomato
SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION OF PROCESSING TOMATOES IN AUSTRALIA |
| Authors: | W.J. Ashcroft, C.D. Aumann, P.D. Fisher, A. Cass |
| Keywords: | Tomato, soil management, yield, agronomy, sustainable agriculture |
| Abstract:
During the 1997–98 growing season, the physical characteristics of major soils used for the production of processing tomatoes in Australia were measured and correlated with crop performance. Across 21 commercial sites, high yields were found to be positively correlated with readily available water and air-filled porosity in the topsoil (0–30 cm), and negatively correlated with subsoil (30–50 cm) compaction, hardness, and sodium content. Yield was heavily dependent on irrigation type, with drip-irrigated crops producing nearly 50% more fruit than those watered using open furrows. This produced confounding effects in the statistical analysis. When irrigation method was included as a factor in the analysis, soil hardness, and levels of sodium, magnesium, and mechanically dispersible clay in the subsoil were negatively correlated with yield. | |
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