Abstract
Six-week-old tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. ’Vendor’) were maintained at five root temperatures (12, 18, 24, 30 or 36 °C) and five night air temperatures (8, 12, 16, 20 or 24 °C) for a period of 4 wk. Increase in root temperature partly offset the negative effects of low night air temperature on leaf dry weight and leaf area. Our results showed that higher root temperatures (30 °C) are required at low night air temperature (8 °C) for optimum plant growth. Lower rates of plant photosynthesis at low root and/or night air temperatures resulted mainly from reduced leaf growth and expansion, but also from a decrease in the photosynthetic capacity of the leaves. Our results suggest combining split-night temperature and soil warming techniques to improve the productivity of tomato plants and to reduce greenhouse heating costs.Key words: Tomato substrate, temperature, photosynthesis, growth
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