Root and Air Temperature Effects on the Elemental Composition of Tomato

Abstract

Abstract Four cultivars of greenhouse tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) were grown in the greenhouse and two cultivars were grown in growth chambers in order to study the effects of root and air temperature on the elemental composition (N, P, K, Ca, and Mg) of leaf tissue. Most of the variation observed in the nutrient composition of leaves was due to air temperature and the cultivar used; only few root temperature effects were significant. Low air temperatures (24°/14°C, 24°/8°, 19°/14°; day/night) resulted in higher N concentrations in the leaf tissue, whereas root temperature had little effect on N. Response to air temperature was similar for P or for N. However, response to high root temperature (27° and 24° in the greenhouse and the growth chamber, respectively) was greater for P than for N. Air and root temperatures had little effect on K concentration in tomato leaves. Consistently high Ca and Mg levels resulted with low air temperatures (24°/8°, 19°/14°, 13°/8°), whereas root temperature had no effect on accumulation of these two nutrients. The incidence of blossom-end-rot in the fruit of all cultivars used in the study was associated with low Ca and Mg levels in the leaf tissue.