ISHS Acta Horticulturae 98: Symposium on Research on Recirculating Water Culture
THE EFFECT OF CULTIVAR AND A BASAL SIDE-SHOOT ON THE YIELD OF TOMATO IN FLOWING WATER CULTURE |
| Authors: | R.G. Hurd, A.C. Mountifield |
| Abstract:
A vigorous (V) and compact (C) cultivar of tomato were grown in NFT with and without a basal side-shoot which was kept vegetative, and their growth, the amount of 'root death' and their yield was observed. Although the cultivars grew similarly in the vegetative phase, those leaves of cv. C developing after the start of fruiting were much smaller than those of cv. V. This could be explained if the fruits of cv. C had a higher sink strength than those of cv.V. There was an indication of more root death in cv. C although final root sizes were similar. Fruit production of cv. C after the first two trusses was inferior to that of cv. V. This was presumably due to the smaller leaf area of cv. C and its greater root death. The provision of a basal side-shoot, intended to improve the carbohydrate status of the roots, had no effect on the yield of cv. C and reduced that of cv. V. It seems that it is a mistake to consider the status of the roots in isolation from that of the vegetative shoot since it is the quantitative balance between them which is important. | |
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