Evaluating the Influence of Deficit Irrigation on Fruit Yield and Quality Indices of Tomatoes Grown in Sandy Loam and Silty Loam Soils

Abstract

The most important biotic stress factor impacting tomato crop biophysical, biochemical, physiological, and morphological features is water stress. A pot experiment was undertaken in a greenhouse to study the drought responsiveness of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) yield and quality indices in sandy loam and silty loam soils. For both sandy loam and silty loam soils, the water supply levels were 70–100% FC, 60–70% FC, 50–60% FC, and 40–50% FC of ETo (crop evapotranspiration) from the vegetative stage to the fruit ripening stage, calculated using the Hargreaves–Samani (HS) model compared to the time-domain reflectometer (TDR) values calibrated using volumetric water content (VWC). The experiment was conducted as a 2 × 4 factorial experiment, arranged in a completely randomized block design, with four treatments replicated four times. In this study, we examined how sandy loam and silty loam soils at different % FC affect the total marketable yield and quality components of tomatoes, concentrating on total soluble solids (Brix), fruit firmness, dry fruit mass, pH, titratable acid (TA), ascorbic acid (Vit. C), and carotenoid composition. Lycopene and β-Carotene were estimated using the UV spectroscopy method, with absorption spectra bands centered at 451 nm, 472 nm, 485 nm, and 502 nm. The results revealed that even though there were some limitations, TDR-based soil moisture content values had a strong positive correlation with HS-based evapotranspiration, with R2 = 0.8, indicating an improvement whereby TDR can solely be used to estimate soil water content. Tomato plants subjected to 40–50% FC (ETo) water stress in both sandy loam and silty loam soils recorded the highest total soluble solids, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid content, and β-carotene content at an absorption peak of 482 nm, and lycopene content at an absorption peak of 472 nm, with lower fruit firmness, fruit juice content, and fruit juice pH, and a reduced marketable yield. Similarly, tomato plants subjected to 60–70% FC throughout the growing season achieved good fruit firmness, percent juice content, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid content, and chlorophyll content (SPAD), with minimum fruit juice pH and high marketable yield in both soil textural types. It is concluded that subjecting tomato plants to 60–70% FC (ETo) has a constructive impact on the marketable yield quality indices of tomatoes.