ISHS Acta Horticulturae 559: V International Symposium on Protected Cultivation in Mild Winter Climates: Current Trends for Suistainable Technologies
DEFOLIATION OF GREENHOUSE TOMATO PLANTS AND ITS EFFECTS ON DRY MATTER ACCUMULATION AND DISTRIBUTION TO FRUITS |
| Authors: | J.L. Andriolo, L.L. Falcão, T.S. Duarte, E.C. Skrebsky |
| Keywords: | Lycopersicon esculentum Mill., growth, fruit yield, leaf area, sink, source, crop management |
| Abstract:
Indeterminate tomato plants, hybrid Raisa, was grown in autumn and spring inside non-heated polyethylene greenhouses, at Departamento de Fitotecnia, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil, 29°43’S and 53°42’W, in order to determine the effect of defoliation on dry matter accumulation and distribution to fruits. In autumn, average daily radiation fell below 8.4 MJ m-2 day-1, at about 51 days after plantation. In spring, average radiation were still low in the weeks just after plantation and reached about 13.3 MJ m-2 day-1 when fruits began to ripe. Treatments consisted of plants bearing one, two, and three (control) leaves per sympod, by pruning leaves below each new truss, just after it appearance. Periodical destructive measurements were made to determine the number of leaves and fruits, and dry matter of shoot organs. The number of leaves per plant differed by a factor of about two and three, as a consequence of pruning leaves, affecting fruit set and, consequently, the number of fruits per plant. No constant ratio was found between number of leaves and fruits. Total dry matter was higher on plants with three leaves per sympod, but fruit dry matter did not differed significantly among treatments, in both seasons. It was concluded the extra dry matter accumulated in non-defoliated plants was not allocated to fruits, remaining mainly in leaves. For commercial purposes, higher densities of leaf-pruned plants was suggested as a practice to simultaneously maximise light interception and fruit yield per unit soil surface. | |
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