Yield Of Tomato Crop Research Articles

Influence of Irrigation Regime on Total Yield of Tomato Crop and Water Productivity under Drip Irrigation System

Influence of Irrigation Regime on Total Yield of Tomato Crop and Water Productivity under Drip Irrigation System

Effects of Integrated Crop Management Practices on Tomato Yield and Economics in Anantapur District, Andhra Pradesh, India

Integrated crop management (ICM) demonstrations were done in 20 farmers’ fields in the Krishi Vigyan Kendra operated mandals of Ananthapur and Satya Sai districts in Andhra Pradesh state during the Kharif seasons of 2022-23 and 2023-24. The objective was to demonstrate the influence of ICM to increase tomato yield at field level. According to the data, ICM practices produced a mean yield of 59.7 t/ha, which is 6.23% higher than farmers practice (56.2 t/ha). The increment in yield of tomato crop under ICM practices was due to use of improved hybrid of Arka Samrat coupled with ICM module developed by Dr YSR Horticultural University. ICM practices resulted in a higher economic benefit and adoption of ICM practices resulted in higher benefit-cost ratio (3.80) than the farmers practice with private hybrids (3.48). Tomato productivity per unit area increased by applying scientifically sound, long-term management practices. The study demonstrated that, ICM enhanced tomato yields. This can be used to influence farmers to adopt enhanced tomato production management technologies in the future.

Evaluation of Drought Tolerance in USDA Tomato Germplasm at Seedling Stage

Drought, a crucial abiotic stressor, markedly reduces the growth and yield of tomato crops (Solanum lycopersicum L.). Consequently, adopting drought-resistant cultivars and implementing breeding programs to enhance drought tolerance have emerged as enduring solutions to alleviate the adverse effects of drought in various tomato cultivation regions. In this study, 68 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) tomato accessions were assessed in a controlled greenhouse experiment, encompassing both water deficit treatment and a control group subjected to standard watering conditions. The experiment was arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The results of this study pinpointed four accessions, PI 365956, PI 584456, PI 390510, and PI 370091, as drought-tolerant accessions. Additionally, high broad-sense heritability was revealed for leaf wilting, leaf rolling, and SPAD chlorophyll content (total leaf chlorophyll). Furthermore, positive correlations were found among parameters associated with leaf wilting, leaf rolling, and SPAD chlorophyll content. The findings offer valuable insights for tomato breeding initiatives, especially those focused on enhancing drought tolerance in elite cultivars. Future studies will expand the evaluation to include a larger pool of tomato accessions and conduct a genome-wide association study to identify single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers for molecular breeding in tomatoes.

Automated Tomato Leaf Disease Detection Using Image Processing: An SVM‐Based Approach with GLCM and SIFT Features

Tomato cultivation is increasingly widespread, yet it faces significant challenges, particularly from plant diseases caused by fungi, bacteria, and insects. Addressing these diseases is crucial for ensuring the quality and yield of tomato crops. To support specialists in accurately identifying and managing these diseases, we propose an advanced automatic system for detecting and identifying tomato leaf diseases using sophisticated image processing techniques. Therefore, we proposed an approach that employs robust feature extraction methods, including the gray level co‐occurrence matrix (GLCM) and scale‐invariant feature transform (SIFT), coupled with a support vector machine (SVM) for adequate classification. We curated an extensive dataset of 2700 tomato leaf images, with a minimum of 300 images for each of the nine distinct disease classes. This comprehensive dataset facilitated the training and testing of various machine learning and deep learning models. The experimental results highlight our proposed approach’s exceptional accuracy and reliability, significantly improving the detection and classification of tomato leaf diseases. A thorough comparative analysis with contemporary state‐of‐the‐art techniques further validates the superiority of our system. Our findings suggest that this framework can significantly benefit tomato cultivation by enabling timely and precise disease management. Future research can explore integrating advanced deep learning algorithms to enhance the system’s accuracy in this multiclass classification challenge.

Efficiency of microbiological fertilizers when cultivating open ground tomato crops in the Volgograd region

It has been established that the use of microbiological fertilizers Azotovit and Phosphatovit during flat-cut tillage to a depth of 0.25-0.27 m on light chestnut soil ensures an increase in the content of Azotobacter up to 96.6% and an increase in the yield of tomato crops by 5.6 t/ha.

Optimal techno-economic energy coordination of solar PV water pumping irrigation systems

In this study, a water pumping photovoltaic system (WPPVS) provided with a water storage tank is introduced to supply freshwater for drip irrigation in Farafra oasis, Egypt. A multi-objective K-means clustering based on non-sorting genetic algorithm is utilized to minimize both the loss of water supply probability and the total annual costs including capital and running costs. Due to the variability of the water flow rate, a techno-economic energy coordination is developed with particular attention to avoid vibration of water pumps. The economic feasibility is based on the tomato crop yield against the total cost of the drip irrigation system. Sensitivity analysis for dynamic head, crop price, and interest and inflation rates is conducted. At specific dynamic head of 6 m, the results revealed that the optimal design of the WPPVS pumps 10220 cubic meter of water for irrigation through the developed energy coordination against 18575 cubic meter with pump vibration which saves 45 % of the pumped water. This reflects its effect on a decrease of the pumped water for all dynamic head values. Furthermore, the vibration avoidance strategy allows the pump to operate at lower dynamic heads above the water threshold level in the well, which is not possible with the presence of vibrations.

Evidences of induced resistance in tomato against Alternaria solani: An investigation

Tomato is one of the major solanaceous vegetables, which has a unique place in the global vegetable market. Instead of being a high-value crop, there is still a need to do improvement in its potential against various biotic and abiotic stressors that adequately demolish its real yield. Alternaria solani (causing early blight disease) is designated as one of the fatal organisms that may reduce tomato crop yield by up to 80%. There were lots of methods, viz., chemical, cultural and biological suggested to overcome it. However, chemical strategies are much in vogue, but they have several negative consequences for human health and the ecosystem. Enlightening this issue, the efficacy of various treatments, viz., chemical fungicides (Amistar Top®, Nativo®, and Contaf®), biochar and fungal bioagent (Trichoderma viride) was assessed under both in vivo and in vitro conditions. Induced resistance is mediated by several regulating pathways, like salicylic acid and jasmonic acid. These mediating pathways manipulate different physiological processes like growth and development, stress tolerance, and defence mechanisms of the plant. The assessment of results revealed that among all treatments biochar at 3.25% by weight consistently displayed remarkable effectiveness against the early blight infection by triggering resistance and improving the overall performance of tomato plants. This result is attributed to improved soil health, fastening mineralization as well as absorption processes, and boosting the plant’s immunity with the use of a higher concentration of biochar. Hence, it could be recommended for the overall improvement of tomato crop and its sustainability.

Efficacy assessment of garlic extract as a natural aphid control agent on infected tomato plants

This controlled pot experiment aimed to assess the effectiveness of garlic extract as a natural aphid control agent on infected tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum). The study investigated the impact of different doses of garlic extract on plant height, leaf damage, fruit production, and overall yield. The garlic extract was prepared by diluting crushed garlic bulbs with water to achieve the desired concentrations. The experiment employed a randomized complete block design with four treatment groups: a control group (0%), low dose (10%), medium dose (30%), and high dose (50%) of garlic extract. The treatments were applied using a handheld sprayer, and the plants were monitored for aphid populations using visual inspection and sticky traps. Data collected were subjected to statistical analysis, including analysis of variance (ANOVA), to determine significant differences between treatments. The results revealed that higher doses of garlic extract led to increased plant height, decrease in leaf damage caused by aphids, higher fruit production, and improved overall yield. The control group exhibited the lowest values for all parameters, while treatments with garlic extract showed significant improvements. The highest yields were observed in Treatment 50%, where plants treated with the highest dose of garlic extract yielded 41.2 kg per treatment. These findings demonstrate the potential of garlic extract as an effective aphid control agent, capable of enhancing tomato crop yield and economic returns for farmers.

Tomato Yield Responses to Deficit Irrigation and Partial Root Zone Drying Methods Using Biochar: A Greenhouse Experiment in a Loamy Sand Soil Using Fresh and Saline Irrigation Water

The impacts of regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) and partial root zone drying irrigation (PRD) on water productivity (WP), crop water response factor (Ky), and yield of tomato crop (Solanum lycopersicum) were explored in this study using fresh (0.9 dS m−1) and saline (3.6 dS m−1) water under greenhouse conditions. RDI had four ETc (crop evapotranspiration) levels, i.e., 40, 60, 80, and 100%. PRD adopted 100% ETc for all treatments with changes in its application time (first, second, third, and fourth growth stages). Biochar pyrolyzed at 450–500 °C and added at rate of 4%. The results revealed that the Ky ranged between 0.21 and 0.37, indicating that tomato can tolerate a shortage of irrigation water. The highest value of WP (191 kg m−3) was found in 40% ETc using fresh water with biochar. The highest yield (20.0 kg m−2) was obtained with the application of 100% ETc with fresh water and biochar. Biochar application did not result in favorable yields with saline water due to its high salinity (7.8 dS m−1). The use of PRD in the fourth stage with biochar and fresh water led to the highest yield (20.6 kg m−2). Finally, this study recommends the application of biochar only when fresh irrigation water is available in adequate amounts.

A bacterial formula with native strains as alternative to chemical fertiliser for tomato crop

Global tomato productivity is threatened by biotic and abiotic stressors. To support and guarantee an adequate yield of tomato crops, agricultural practices have been based on the intensive use of fertilisers with negative impacts on the environment. This study presents a simple and effective strategy of functional bioaugmentation, suitable for different varieties, to replace chemical fertilisation. A tailored microbial formula composed by eight indigenous strains (including the genera Delftia, Pseudomonas, Paenarthrobacter, Phyllobacterium, Bacillus, and Acinetobacter) was developed as biofertilizer. Strains were selected from native soil for their plant growth-promoting (PGP) functions, and combined respecting the taxonomic composition of the original PGP heterotrophic community structure. The effect of the bio-fertilisation vs chemical fertilisation was tested in three successive field trials in the company greenhouse, with different tomato varieties (Camone, Oblungo, Cherry). When bio-fertilisation was applied only twice during the Camone’s life cycle, tomato yield was significantly reduced (0.8 vs 2.1 kg per plant, p = 0.0003). However, monthly inoculation during plant growth led to a fruit yield comparable to that obtained with chemical fertilisers (about 1.5 kg per plant for Oblungo, and about 2 kg per plant for Cherry variety, p = 0.9999). Bio-fertilization did not significantly affect plant height; only during the last growing period of the Cherry variety, a significantly higher average plant height (p < 0.0001) was observed with chemical fertiliser. The results indicate that a knowledge-based bacterial formula and monthly inoculation during the plant growth can be a successful bio-fertilisation strategy. These findings may pave the way towards more sustainable tomato production, since farming practices are becoming increasingly crucial, in accordance with Agenda 2030 and the UE “Farm to Fork” strategy.Graphical

Impact of biochar on the yield and nutritional quality of tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) under drought stress.

Undeviating climatic instabilities have increased the incidents of drought. Crop performance and yield attributes of tomatoes are negatively affected by drought stress. Biochar is an organic amendment that can increase crop yield and nutritional value under water-deficient conditions by retaining water and providing nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and other trace elements). The present study was designed to investigate the effects of biochar on tomato plant physiology, yield, and nutritional quality under deficit moisture regimes. Plants were subjected to two biochar levels (0.1% and 0.2%) and four moisture levels [100%, 70%, 60%, and 50% field capacities (FCs)]. Drought stress, especially 50D (50% FC), severely affected the plant morphology, physiology, yield, and fruit quality attributes. However, plants grown in biochar-amended soil showed significant increase in the studied attributes. Plant height, root length, fresh and dry weight of root, the number of fruits per plant, fruit fresh and dry weight, ash percent, crude fat, crude fiber, crude protein, and lycopene contents were increased in plants grown in biochar-amended soil under control and drought stress. Biochar at 0.2% application rate depicted a more pronounced increment in the studied parameters than 0.1% and can save 30% water without compromising tomato crop yield and nutritional value. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Spodoptera Litura Damage Severity Detection and Classification in Tomato Leaves

Agriculture plays a key role in global economy. Tomato is India's third most prioritized crop after potato and onion, but it is the world's second most prioritized crop after potato. Worldwide, India ranks second in tomato production. However, Tomato crop is constantly threatened by different pest infections. The most significant pest infection that highly affects the tomato crop yield is Spodoptera Litura. Emerging from the family of Noctuidae with vigorous eating pattern, this insect primarily feed on leaves and fruits by leaving the entire crop completely destroyed. Monitoring the pest spread dynamics will reduce the probability of an outbreak. Early detection of pests can assist farmers in taking the required precautions to limit the spread of the infection. This paper provides a brief introduction to performs an assessment on the infection spread by Spodoptera Litura in the tomato plants. Here, the plants are classified as low, moderate and high pest infestation and further the severity of the damage is assessed by analyzing the number of S. Litura Larvae present in Tomato crop and also the percentage of pest infestation in tomato plants. The primary goal of this research study is to detect pests as early as possible and decline the usage of pesticides on the crops by taking early sustainable alternative measures.

Effect of Mulching and Amount of Water on the Yield of Tomato under Furrow Irrigation

Maintaining optimal soil water content through the growing season of tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) is required for optimal plant yield and yield components especially in semi arid regions. However, there is limited information on optimum water management practices, or deficit irrigation that would increase tomato crop yield and yield components when irrigation is used. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of mulch and amount of water on the yield of tomato under furrow irrigation system and to assess the potential of deficit irrigation to improve the economic efficiency of tomato production at Pawe Agricultural Research Center, during 2020/2021 cropping season. A factorial combination of four levels of water (namely 50% ETc, 75% ETc, 100% ETc and 125% ETc) combined with three mulch treatments (namely without mulch, dry elephant grass mulch and dry banana leaf mulch) were arranged in randomized complete block design replicated three times. Interaction effects of amount of water and mulching materials significantly affected fruit length, fruit diameter, marketable and total fruit yield. Number of fruits and average of fruit weight were significantly affected by amount of water. Significant difference was also shown among mulch treatments on number of fruits and average fruit weight. The highest net benefit (428, 195.60 birr ha-1) and marginal rate of return (1318%) were obtained from the combination of 75% ETc amount of irrigation and elephant grass mulch. Therefore, application of 75% ETc with grass mulch was found to be economically and agronomically feasible and is recommended for Pawe and its surrounding and other similar agro-ecologies under furrow irrigation system.

Desalinated and Brackish Water Conjunctive use in Irrigation Strengthening Adaptation and Resilience in Water-Scarce Regions Santiago Island - Cape Verde

The scarcity of water resources remains a global challenge. Finding alternatives to increase water availability is an imperative for adaptation and resilience in Cabo Verde. The research developed consisted in evaluating the use of desalinated, blended1 and brackish water in a light textured soil and its impacts on the productivity of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) and zucchini (Cucurbita pepo) crops. The yield of tomato crop, irrigated with blended water (T2 with 2.5 dS/m), was 23.38 ton/ha; followed by irrigation with blended water (T3 with 3.5 dS/m) with a yield of 16.56 ton/ha, and irrigation with brackish water (T4 with 5.75 dS/m) whose yield was16.93 ton/ha. The lowest yield recorded (4.8 ton/ha) was with the treatment T1, irrigation with desalinated water. Regarding fruit quality, no significant variations were observed in tomato quality parameters, however, the variety Savana F1 is sensitive to apical rot. The average weight of the fruits differed according to the treatments: T1 (33.3g), T2 (39.7 g), T3 (32.4 g) and T4 (26.9 g). In terms of yield decrease (Qy) the following values were recorded: T1 (Qy =79.5%), T3 (Qy =29.2%) and T4 (Qy =27.6%) compared to the best treatment, T2 (23.38 ton/ha). The zucchini crop despite being moderately sensitive to salinity, did not adapt to the environmental conditions of the trial. The yield of sweet potato crop, irrigated with T1, was 14.6 ton/ha, followed by T2 with 11.08 ton/ha and T3 with 9.15 ton/ha. The lowest value verified (5.87 ton/ha) was with T4, brackish water. Regarding tubers quality, no significant variations were observed, but the average weight was better with the T1 treatment (199.4 g) followed by T2 (181.5g) and T3 (141.4g) and lastly T4 (126.3g). In terms of Qy, T2 (Qy =24.1%), T3 (Qy =37.3%) and T4 (Qy =60%) were the best compared to T1 (14.6 ton/ha). The results show that irrigation with blended water (desalinated and brackish) in adequate doses is a solution for increasing water availability and strengthening the resilience of agricultural systems in Cabo Verde (SID).

Effect of Biochar Application to Fertile Soil on Tomato Crop Production under Saline Irrigation Regime

Biochar application is a promising sustainable strategy for enhancing soil properties thus crop production. However, biochar application to soil certainly alters its biological and physical properties, and could require extra costs. Therefore, biochar suitability to agroecosystems must be proactively estimated. The advantage of biochar addition to poor fertile or weathered soils has been well studies, however, its feasibility to fertile soil under low quality (saline) irrigation water was not frequently studied. Consequently, this work investigates the hypothesis of whether the application of biochar at a rate of 4.8 tons/ha to fertile soil (Nile Valley, Giza, Egypt) would ameliorate the negative effects of saline irrigation regime (3000 ppm) on tomato crop and soil. The results of two seasons experiments showed that saline irrigation significantly reduced tomato crop yield by an average reduction ratio of 51%, and biochar addition could not compensate such reduction. Furthermore, biochar did not reduce accumulated Na+ in fruits or roots. Tomato fruits produced from biochar-added soil were lower in TSS levels (41.7% reduction ratio) yet larger in diameter by approximately 1.5-fold increase. Interestingly, biochar addition into soil greatly promotes the length of stem-borne lateral roots and elevates the expression of LeNR (encodes nitrate reductase enzyme) in leaves yet under fresh irrigation regime. For soil properties, biochar application enhanced the soil properties under either saline or fresh water irrigation conditions. Collectively, it is assumed that biochar application to fertile soil in Nile Valley of Egypt could not alleviate tomato fruits yield reduction affected by applied saline irrigation regime.

How Soil Covers Can Affect the Dynamics of Temperature, Soil Moisture, and Productivity of Creeping Fresh Market Tomatoes?

The aim was to evaluate the influence of soil covers on the dynamics of soil temperature and moisture, canopy air temperature, and yield of creeping fresh market tomatoes. The experiment was carried out in randomized blocks design, using the tomato cultivar Thaise, with 5 treatments, 4 replications, with different soil covers: a) Uncovered soil (conventional planting); b) Mulching (double-sided plastic film - black and white); c) Sorghum; d) Sudan grass and e) Pearl millet), cultivated in Tangará da Serra, Mato Grosso, Brazil. Soil temperature was monitored at depths of 5, 10, 20, and 30 cm and in the crop canopy, using thermocouple sensors of the type "K". Soil moisture was monitored in the 0 to 30 cm layer, using of time-domain reflectometry (TDR) probes. Soil temperature and moisture were evaluated throughout the cycle and, in the end, the total and commercial yield of tomato crop. Soil covers have a positive influence on soil temperature and moisture in the cultivation of creeping fresh market tomatoes so that soil cover with mulching provides the highest soil temperature in the early stages of development and covers with mulching and pearl millet provide the highest values of soil moisture. The highest total and commercial yield of tomato were in the soil cover with mulching, with 110.71 and 75.93 t ha-1, respectively, presenting ideal ranges of temperature and soil moisture, so that the other treatments do not differ from each other, with the average total yield of 91.45 t ha-1.

Effect of different transplanting dates on growth and yield of tomato crop under naturally ventilated polyhouse

The experiment was conducted at Plasticulture Farm, College of Technology and Engineering, MPUAT, Udaipur, Rajasthan during May, 2018 to May, 2019 to observe the effect of different transplanting dates on growth and yield of tomato crop. Six different dates of transplanting viz. May 25, June 25, July 25, August 25, September 25 and October 25 were considered. The experiment was laid out in RBD with four replications. Early flowering (37.40 days) as well as earlyfruit harvesting (78.00 days) was occurred in August 25 transplanting, where astransplanting on May 25 resulted in delayed flowering (41.83 days) and fruit harvesting (83.00 days), respectively. Number of fruits per plant was also the highest (40.28) in August 25 transplanting and the lowest (31.75) was in October 25 transplanting. Individual fruit weight was higest in August 25 transplanting whereas lowest in May 25 transplanting. Transplanting on August 25 was found superior in respect of yield (119.11 tha-1) compared to other dates of transplanting.

Economic Analysis of Tomato Cultivation in Himachal Pradesh

The present study is based both on secondary and primary data. The secondary data were collected from various publications of the state government, and the primary data were collected for the agricultural year 2016-17 from 60 tomato growers from Sadar block of Bilaspur district, Himachal Pradesh. The results revealed that compound growth rates in the area, production and productivity of tomato in Bilaspur district were 0.49, 2.02 and 1.52 percent, respectively, whereas it was 1.68, 4.46 and 2.73 percent in Himachal Pradesh. The cropping pattern revealed that 10.48 percent of the cropped area was under tomato at an overall level. The average yield of tomato crops was found to be higher in the case of large farmers. The net returns over variable cost were ?249361 per ha, and the output-input ratio stood at 2.21:1. It was found that all costs declined with the size of the holding, mainly due to economies of scale. Further, it was found that the returns over total and variable cost were higher on large farms than on small farms. Vegetable growing (mainly tomato) contributed 32.21 percent to the total annual gross household income at an overall level. The average farm income of the large growers was higher (?222990 per farm) compared to small growers (?140719 per farm).

The impact of different plant extracts on population suppression of Helicoverpa armigera (Hub.) and tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) yield under field conditions.

Helicoverpa armigera (Hub.) is a destructive pest of the tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) crop in Pakistan. Although insecticides are the primary management strategy used to control H. armigera, most of them are not effective due to considerable toxic residual effects on the fruits. Nonetheless, H. armigera is rapidly evolving resistance against the available pesticides for its management. This situation calls upon the need of alternative management options against the pest. Different plant extracts have been suggested as a viable, environment-friendly option for plant protection with minimal side effects. Furthermore, the plant extracts could also manage the insect species evolving resistance against pesticides. This study evaluated the efficacy of different plant extracts (i.e., Neem seed, turmeric, garlic and marsh pepper) against H. armigera. Furthermore, the impact of the plant extracts on growth and yield of tomato crop was also tested under field conditions. The results revealed that all plant extracts resulted in higher mortality of H. armigera compared to control. Similarly, the highest plant height was observed for the plants treated with the plant extracts compared to untreated plants. Moreover, the highest tomato yield was observed in plants treated with plant extracts, especially with neem seed (21.013 kg/plot) followed by pepper extract (19.25 kg/plot), and garlic extract 18.4 kg/plot) compared to the untreated plants (8.9 kg/plot). It is concluded that plant extracts can be used as eco-friendly approaches for improving tomato yield and resistance management of H. armigera.

Influence of phosphorus fertilizers of various composition on the yield of tomato crops and control of their consumption by plants

Phosphate fertilizers are widely used for growing crops. To obtain phosphoric fertilizers, phosphoric acid purified using organic solvents, one of which is 100% tributyl phosphate, is used. The authors of the paper have chosen this solvent to obtain purified phosphoric acid. Purification from impurities included the stages of extraction and reextraction. On the basis of the re-extract and chemically pure phosphoric acid, a phosphoric fertilizer magnesium-ammonium phosphate (MgNH4PO4) was synthesized and used in the greenhouse experiment. The greenhouse experiment consisted in growing a tomato crop included three options for fertilization. A comparative analysis of the stimulating effect of magnesium-ammonium phosphate, synthesized with the use of phosphoric acid of varying degrees of purification, on the yield of tomato culture has been carried out.The paper proposes a blister-colorimetric version of the determination of phosphate ions in a blister cell containing a mixture of dry reagents in the form of a bulk. The optimal conditions for carrying out colorimetry have been selected. The proposed method makes it possible to semi-quantitatively determine phosphorus in various objects without preparing reagent solutions, using a bulk packed in an ampoule or blister, and can be used to control phosphorus consumption by plants, which, in turn, allows regulating the introduction of nutrients in the form of dressings.