Abstract
Industrial tomato is the most important vegetable crop of the Brazilian agribusiness. Few researches have evaluated the tolerance of this crop to saline stress. In this study, the effects of five levels of salinity of the irrigation water (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 dS m-1) and two equivalent proportions of Na:Ca:Mg (1:1:0.5 and 7:1:0.5) were tested on yield and quality of fruits of industrial tomato, cultivar IPA 6. Seedlings were transplanted in rhizotrons and grown under plastic covering until fruit ripening. Volume of water for daily irrigations was determined by the difference between the applied and drained volume in the previous irrigation. Unitary increase of water salinity above 1 dS m-1 reduced the commercial and total yield by 11.9 and 11.0%, respectively, and increased the concentration of soluble solids and the titratable acidity of the fruits by 13.9 and 9.4%, respectively. The increase of the proportion of sodium reduced the total and marketable yield, the number of marketable fruits and pulp yield. Water of moderate salinity, with low concentration of sodium, can be used in the irrigation of the industrial tomato, without significant yield losses.
Highlights
The cultivar ‘IPA 6’ of industrial tomato occupies large part of the areas planted with this crop in Brazil, especially in semi-arid areas subjected to salinity problems
According to Maas & Hoffman (1977), the maximum soil salinity tolerated by tomato, with basis on the electrical conductivity of the saturation extract (ECe), is 2.5 dS m-1, with reduction of 9.9% in the production for each unit increase of salinity above this limit
Tomato yield was reduced with increasing salinity of the irrigation water, the reduction being 11.8 and 10.1% for total yield of P1 and P2, respectively, and 11.0% for marketable yield, for each unit increased in the salinity of the irrigation water above 1 dS m-1 (Figure 2A and 2B)
Summary
The cultivar ‘IPA 6’ of industrial tomato occupies large part of the areas planted with this crop in Brazil, especially in semi-arid areas subjected to salinity problems. Studies about tomato tolerance to salinity are scarce, for this cultivar. Giordano et al (2000) report that the cultivar ‘IPA 6’ is resistant to Fusarium sp. According to Maas & Hoffman (1977), the maximum soil salinity tolerated by tomato, with basis on the electrical conductivity of the saturation extract (ECe), is 2.5 dS m-1, with reduction of 9.9% in the production for each unit increase of salinity above this limit. On the other hand, Ayers (1977) reports that the use of irrigation water with electrical conductivity of 1.7, 2.3, 3.4, and 5.0 dS m-1 reduces 0, 10, 25 and 50%. Agric. (Piracicaba, Braz.), v.63, n.2, p.146-152, Mar./Apr. 2006 the tomato yield, respectively, assuming 0.15-0.20 leaching fractions
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