ISHS Acta Horticulturae 761: XXVII International Horticultural Congress - IHC2006: International Symposium on Advances in Environmental Control, Automation and Cultivation Systems for Sustainable, High-Quality Crop Production under Protected Cultivation
EFFECTS OF AMBIENT TEMPERATURE REDUCTION IN PLASTIC COVERING HOUSE ON YIELD AND FRUIT QUALITY OF TOMATO IN NORTHEAST THAILAND |
| Authors: | R. Prajuntasan, S. Techawongstien, S. Techawongstien |
| Abstract:
Northeast is the important area for tomato production in Thailand. During growing season, high solar radiation effected ambient temperature on yield and the irregular rain affected fruit quality. At present, plastic covering house was used to protect the plants from those unfavorable conditions. However, the covering also caused higher ambient temperature. Two experiments on reduction of ambient temperature in the plastic covering house for tomato production were carried out in Khon Kaen University, Northeast Thailand. The first experiment on reduction of ambient temperature by percentage of shading together with mist spray was conducted during October 2004 to January 2005. The experiment was laid in strip plot design with 4 replications of 3 levels of shading (0, 30 and 50%) as subplot and mist spraying (2 times a day or none) as main plot. The following experiment in randomized complete block design with 4 replications of frequency of mist spray (2, 4 and 7 times a day) was conducted during June to September 2005. The experiment found that the higher percentage of shading could lower the ambient temperature but it also lowered the intensity of light that plants received. Without shading (0%) gave the highest yield because the intensity of filtered light through the plastic covering (34,000 lux) was optimum for tomato growth. However, the percentage of BER fruits was lower in the higher level of shading. Higher frequencies of mist spray (7 times a day) also gave a lower percentage of BER fruit as well as a higher content of lycopene in the fruit. The fruit that received higher frequency of mist spray tended to have longer shelf life than those that received lower frequency of mist spray. | |
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