Growth, flowering and fruiting in tomatoes in relation to temperature, cycocel and GA.

Abstract

The effects were assessed of CCC and GA on tomatoes grown either under a high temperature regime (35 degrees day and 25 degrees C. night) or at normal temperatures (22 degrees and 18 degrees ). CCC (0.4%) was applied to the soil in the pots either 2 days after transplanting or at the start of flowering; G A was applied by dipping the first truss in GA (50 p.p.m.). CCC greatly retarded the growth rate of the stems of the plants under both temperature regimes; this effect persisted for about 17 and 24 days under the high and normal temperature regimes, respectively. With plants grown at high temperatures CCC applied at the start of flowering greatly reduced flower shedding and slightly increased the fruit set and fruit development of hand-pollinated flowers. With plants grown at normal temperatures, however, the effects of CCC were slight. CCC-treated plants were sturdy with dark-green leaves which remained green longer, especially under the high temperature regime. More N accumulated in the tissues of plants grown at high temperatures than at normal temperatures, and the N content of the latter plants was considerably increased by CCC treatment. The root development of the CCC-treated plants was much more extensive than that of the untreated plants. The numbers of seeds in the hand-pollinated fruit were not affected by CCC, but at high temperatures there were considerably less seeds than at low temperatures. GA enhanced fruit set of the high-temperature plants, but the fruits were small and seedless. GA also accelerated fruit ripening by 2 and 3 weeks in the plants grown at high and normal temperatures, respectively.-Agric. Univ., Wageningen. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)