Abstract
This study was conducted to investigate the developmental processes of tomato plants in greenhouses covered with polyethene agricultural film that applied a smart irrigation system. The study tested applying different irrigation water levels (IWLs) of 60, 80, 100, and 120% of crop evapotranspiration (ETc). Based on the findings for the tomato rows sampled to collect information about leaf area, biomass, and yield, maximal growth of tomatoes varied from 80 to 90 days after transplanting (DAT) for all IWLs. Among the applied IWLs, approximately 80% of ETc was recorded as the most appropriate for the crop growth rate (CGR), leaf area index (LAI), and yield, while the IWLs with 60%, 100%, and 120% of ETc also gave an equivalent output. The results of this work can provide useful information for farmers to make the right decisions about the amount of irrigation water to use.
Highlights
The tomato is the second most important vegetable after the potato (Gad and Hassan, 2013; Oke and Ojediran, 2015) and it faces high risks due to pests, diseases, and local weather conditions(Gad and Hassan, 2013; Monte et al, 2013)
During the experiment,from when tomato cuttings were planted until the tomatoes were harvested, the observed ETc in the greenhouse was about 392.9 mm, which implies the necessityof irrigation for evaporated water availability
An initial increase in leaf area index (LAI) was recorded with all treatments shown, until maximum values from 1.02 to 1.23 m2.m-2were reached around 90 days after transplanting (DAT); LAI decreased to minima around 120 DAT (Fig.2)
Summary
The tomato is the second most important vegetable after the potato (Gad and Hassan, 2013; Oke and Ojediran, 2015) and it faces high risks due to pests, diseases, and local weather conditions(Gad and Hassan, 2013; Monte et al, 2013). Drip irrigation in greenhouses has become very popular in the Da Lat vegetable-growing region,which offers the most profitable business opportunities that have been applied in recent decades. For these reasons, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of established IWLs and define the optimal amount of irrigation water through drip irrigation under greenhouse conditions
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