Abstract
1. A population of 1044 plants of an inbred strain of Bonny Best tomatoes was grown in sand culture. The effects of eighty-seven different nutrient solutions varying in the relative proportions of macro-nutrient elements were studied in relation to fruitfulness and the occurrence of blossom-end rot. The data were reduced and analyzed by statistical methods. 2. In general, variations in amounts of calcium and nitrate in the nutrient medium resulted in greater differences in fruitfulness over wider ranges in concentrations than did the other elements. 3. Greatest fruitfulness occurred in treatments relatively high in nitrate and low in sulphate and phosphate in the anion triangle and in treatments relatively high in calcium and low in magnesium and potassium in cation triangle. 4. The percentage of diseased fruits on each plant increased with decreasing calcium concentrations in the nutrient medium. This correlation is largely independent of magnesium and potassium concentrations, and no correlation with any anion was observed. 5. Fruits produced in treatments where the rot was most severe were low in calcium content and high in potassium and magnesium content. 6. The occurrence of the rot was definitely associated with calcium nutrition.
Published Version
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