Tomato Yield and Quality Response to Water Application Technique and Management

Abstract

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) is one of the most important and has the highest acreage of any vegetable crop in the world. Such quantitative analysis is based on the assessment of data from sequential collections of plant traits linked to environmental conditions, as well as yield potential under optimal growth conditions. The objective in this study was to evaluate the performance of tomato crop under furrow, basin and hosepipe irrigation techniques in Kabos, Serere District of Eastern Uganda. The materials and methods used in this study included tools like water pump (model DCX2-50D), Tomato variety Rionex, weighting scale, CROPWAT 8.0 software, CANOPEO software among others. Generally, quantitative techniques through several experiment designs were used. Daily and monthly weather variables, in-situ primary datasets of plant height, canopy cover percentages and fruit characteristics, and weight of harvested tomatoes were measured at three growth stages and analyzed using RCBD experiment with six treatments and four replications.
 Findings showed that overhead treatments had lowest rate of rotten yield compared to basin and furrow but had highest rate of discolored fruits attributed to sunshine and impact of water pressure during irrigation. Rotting of yield was highest in basin treatments. The rotting was attributed to water logging, poor drainage that accelerated fungal infection in the tomatoes. Furrow treatments had better drainage which reduced quantity of nonmarketable yield. There was no significant difference on the weight of tomatoes below 65g. This meant that fruit weight was independent of irrigation method. Treatments under hosepipe irrigation-overhead. Conclusively, water management practices have big impact on the crop yield giving a relationship that yield is directly proportional to water management practices, which however, should be followed by detailed soil and water analysis through such studies. The Safe-Water-for Food (SWFF) target can be reached and eventually reduce on the global hunger syndrome.