ISHS Acta Horticulturae 724: IX International Symposium on the Processing Tomato
KAOLIN EFFECTS IN PROCESSING TOMATO PRODUCTION IN CHILE |
| Authors: | G. Saavedra Del R., M. Escaff G., J. Hernandéz V. |
| Keywords: | Lycopersicon esculentum, solid soluble content, lycopene, sunburn |
| DOI: | 10.17660/ActaHortic.2006.724.23 |
| Abstract:
Kaolin is inert clay, formulated for use as a crop protectant and commonly applied to apples to increase the red colour of fruit. There has been little research on the use of this product in tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). An investigation was therefore conducted to analyse the effect of kaolin in processing tomato production. Treatments consisted of plants covered with kaolin (Surround Crop Protectant®) from when the first flower opened and without any pesticide application; plants without kaolin but treated with pesticides; and a control without pesticides or kaolin. Two tomato cultivars were included; the F1 hybrid ‘CXD 237’ and the open-pollinated cultivar ‘Super Roma’. The experiment was arranged in a 3 x 2 factorial design with three replications. The results showed a highly significant yield difference between the insecticide treatment and the control, but yields were similar between the insecticide and kaolin treatments. However, the kaolin treatment resulted in only 3.6% sunburn damage in fruits compared with 11.3% and 14.3% in the insecticide and control treatments, respectively. There was also a significant difference in soluble solids content between the kaolin treatment (5.2°Brix) and the control (4.6°Brix), but not between insecticide (4.9°Brix) and kaolin. While there were few effects on processing tomato productivity measures, this research found that sunburn was decreased with kaolin treatments. This problem is very important in sunny regions and in modern F1 hybrids which have open canopies, and where fruit losses from sunburn can be as high as 10 to 20% of production. | |
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