Tomato Yield Research Articles

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.

Deep nutrients and soil fungal communities support tomato fruit yield and quality in dry farm management systems

Changing climates are causing agricultural water shortages at unprecedented scales and magnitudes, especially in regions historically reliant on irrigation. Identifying and understanding systems of farming that allow continuity in agricultural operations in times of water scarcity are increasingly urgent needs. Vegetable dry farming relies on winter rains stored in soils to reduce irrigation to 0–2 events per season and has become prevalent on California’s Central Coast in recent decades. Until now, this system has been unexplored in scientific literature beyond extension publications, despite its promise as a model for low-water agriculture in arid regions. Dry farm management presents a unique challenge given that low water content restricts nutrient access in surface soils, which farmers typically target for fertility management. Managing soil nutrients at depth, as well as microorganisms that help plants access nutrients and alleviate water stress (e.g. arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, or AMF) could be crucial to dry farm success. We engaged in a collaborative research design process with farmers managing seven commercial dry farm tomato fields to identify and answer three key management questions: 1. What are the depths at which nutrients influence harvest outcomes given low water content in surface soils?, 2. Are commercially available AMF inoculants effective at improving harvest outcomes?, and 3. How does the broader fungal community change in dry farm soils, and are those changes associated with harvest outcomes? Only soil nutrients below 60 cm depth were correlated with tomato yield and fruit quality. We identified a fungal class, Sordariomycetes, as a ‘signature’ fungal group in dry farm soils that distinguished them from irrigated management and correlated with positive fruit quality, while commercial AMF inoculation showed little benefit. These findings can inform management practices that optimize fruit yield and quality, and can guide farmers and policymakers alike in efforts to minimize agricultural water use.

Influence of zeolites of different fractions on the yield and quality of tomatoes in the Northern Transural region

Influence of zeolites of different fractions on the yield and quality of tomatoes in the Northern Transural region

Encapsulated allyl isothiocyanate improves soil distribution, efficacy against soil-borne pathogens and tomato yield.

Crop quality, yield and farmer income are reduced by soil-borne diseases, nematodes and weeds, although these can be controlled by allyl isothiocyanate (AITC), a plant-derived soil fumigant. However, its efficacy against soil-borne pathogens varies, mainly because of its chemical instability and uneven distribution in the soil. Formulation modification is an effective way to optimize pesticide application. We encapsulated AITC in modified diatomite granules (GR) and measured the formulation's loading content and stability, environmental fate and efficacy against soil-borne pathogens, and its impact on the growth and yield of tomatoes. We observed that an AITC loading content in the granules of 27.6% resulted in a degradation half-life of GR that was 1.94 times longer than 20% AITC emulsifiable concentrate in water (EW) and shorter than AITC technical (TC) grade. The stable and more even distribution of GR in soil resulted in relatively consistent and acceptable control of soil-borne pathogens. Soil containing AITC residues that remained 10-24 days after GR fumigation were not phytotoxic to cucumber seeds. GR significantly reduced soil-borne pest populations, and tomato growth and yield increased as AITC dosage increased. GR containing an AITC dose of 20 g m-2 effectively controlled pathogens in soil for about 7 months and improved tomato yield by 108%. Our research demonstrates the benefits of soil fumigation with loaded AITC over other formulations for effective pest control, and improved tomato plant growth and fruit yield. Fumigant encapsulation appears to be a useful method to improve pest and disease control, environmental performance and fumigant commercial sustainability. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

Determination of the Effects of Different Irrigation Levels and Vermicompost Doses on Water Consumption and Yield of Greenhouse-Grown Tomato

This study was conducted in pots under a polycarbonate greenhouse to determine the effects of different irrigation levels and vermicompost doses on the morphological and phenological characteristics, water consumption, water use efficiency, and yield parameters of tomato plants. For this purpose, different irrigation levels of 100%, 75%, 50% (I100: full irrigation, I75, I50) and vermicompost (VC) doses of 0, 10% and 20% (VC0, VC10 and VC20, w/w) were applied as the treatments. The study’s results determined the irrigation levels and vermicompost doses affected the tomato plants’ morphological and fruit quality parameters. The highest and lowest plant water consumption (ET) values for the treatments were determined as 47.8 L (I100VC10) and 21.2 L (I50VC0), respectively. Moreover, irrigation water levels and vermicompost doses significantly influenced the total yield of tomatoes. The highest and lowest total and marketable yields were obtained from the I100VC20 and I50VC0 irrigation levels and vermicompost doses. Similarly, the highest and lowest total water use efficiencies were achieved from the I100VC20 (21.9 g L−1) and I50VC0 (11.0 g L−1) treatments. Furthermore, the highest and lowest marketable water use efficiencies were obtained from the I100VC20 (21.9 g L−1) and I50VC0 (7.8 g L−1) treatments. The yield response factor (ky) was found to be 1.42. Although the highest efficiency was achieved from 100% full irrigation and a 20% vermicompost dose in the study, it is suggested that 75% irrigation level and 10% fertilizer doses can also be applied in places where water is limited and fertilizer is expensive. The results revealed that the appropriate irrigation level and vermicompost doses could reliably be used to enhance tomato yield.

Fruit rot on tomatoes caused by Talaromyces stipitatus newly reported in China

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is an important horticultural crop across the world, but its growth process is susceptible to various phytopathogenic fungi. In February 2022, naturally rotten tomato fruit were observed in greenhouses in Panjin City, Liaoning province, China. Thirty-two morphologically similar fungal strains were isolated from symptomatic tomato fruit. One representative isolate, Guo 1-4, was selected for subsequent experiments and identified as Talaromyces stipitatus through morphological analysis and multigene phylogenetic analysis of internal transcribed spacer region of ribosomal DNA (ITS), and RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (rpb2), and β-tubulin (tub2). Pathogenicity tests revealed that the pathogenic fungi caused symptoms similar to those observed on tomato fruit in greenhouses and could also infect tomato leaves, thus confirming Koch's postulates. To our knowledge, this is the first report of T. stipitatus infecting tomato fruit and leaves in China. This research lays the foundation for developing effective disease management measures to reduce tomato yield losses.

Exogenous maize grain embryonic extract enriched with some biostimulants confers drought stress tolerance by promoting tomato's growth, photosynthetic efficiency, antioxidant defense, and yield and quality.

Exogenous maize grain embryonic extract enriched with some biostimulants confers drought stress tolerance by promoting tomato's growth, photosynthetic efficiency, antioxidant defense, and yield and quality.

SlGAD2 is the target of SlTHM27, positively regulates cold tolerance by mediating anthocyanin biosynthesis in tomato.

Cold stress significantly limits the yield and quality of tomato. Deciphering the key genes related to cold tolerance is important for selecting and breeding superior cold-tolerant varieties. γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) responds to various types of stress by rapidly accumulating in plant. In this study, glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD2) was a positive regulator to enhance cold stress tolerance of tomato. Overexpression of SlGAD2 decreased the extent of cytoplasmic membrane damage and increased the endogenous GABA content, antioxidant enzyme activities, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging capacity in response to cold stress, whereas Slgad2 mutant plants showed the opposite trend. In addition, SlGAD2 induced anthocyanin biosynthesis in response to cold stress by increasing the content of endogenous GABA. Further study revealed that SlGAD2 expression was negatively regulated by the transcription factor SlTHM27. However, the transcript levels of SlTHM27 were repressed under cold stress. Antioxidant enzyme activities, SlGAD2 transcript levels, GABA and anthocyanin contents were significantly increased in Slthm27 mutant plants. Further, our study demonstrated that SlTHM27 decreases SlGAD2-promoted cold resistance in tomato by repressing SlGAD2 transcription. Overall, our results showed that the SlTHM27-SlGAD2 model regulates the cold tolerance in tomato by regulating GABA and anthocyanin.

Comparison of Predictive Performance of Data Mining Algorithms in Predicting Tomato Yield with the A Case Study in Igdir

Among the vegetable species in the world, the plant with the most cultivation area is tomato. Increasing tomato yield is important in terms of contributing more to the world economy, producer’s income and human health. With the advancement in software technologies, the importance of data mining algorithms is increasing due to the fact that these algorithms can produce more sophisticated solutions for regression and classification problems. Determining the factors affecting tomato yield and comparing different data mining algorithms on prediction of tomato yield are the purpose of this study. For this purpose, survey study was conducted with the 105 farmers, selected by Simple Random Sampling Method in Igdir province in 2016. Different data mining algorithms including Classification and Regression Tree, Exhaustive CHAID, Chi-Square Automatic Interaction Detector, Artificial Neural Network Algorithm, Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines and General Linear Model were developed and compared their predictive performance. MARS decision tree has been able to build a model with greatest predictive accuracy, and the others are respectively ANN, GLM, CART, CHAID and Exhaustive CHAID. In the MARS model, number of irrigation , amount of chemical fertilizer , age of farmer , number of seedlings , education level , soil analysis status , sowing region were found statistically significant (P˂0.05). Preferring the MARS model could give an opportunity to detect factors affecting tomato yield and their interactions with higher accuracy. Moreover, results can be easily interpreted and the rules are understandable.

Effects of saline water drip irrigation on growth and yield of protected tomato under yellow sand cultivation model

Effects of saline water drip irrigation on growth and yield of protected tomato under yellow sand cultivation model

Using a Real-Time Photosynthesis and Transpiration Monitoring System to Develop Random Forests Models for Predicting Cherry Tomato Yield in a Commercial Greenhouse

Using a Real-Time Photosynthesis and Transpiration Monitoring System to Develop Random Forests Models for Predicting Cherry Tomato Yield in a Commercial Greenhouse

Comparative analysis in selecting best irrigation method to maximize tomato yield from various irrigation approaches in water scarce regions

It is now essential for farmers to evaluate and compare different irrigation scheduling strategies in order to operate their irrigation systems in accordance with their resources and achievements. For tomato crops, a rigorous comparison was made between the yield of soil moisture and irrigation scheduling systems based on evapotranspiration. The experimental setup used a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications, with water requirements of 100%, 75%, and 50%. Using a ReplogleBos-Clemmens (RBC) flume with an input rate of 1.62 l/s, water was applied to the furrows. The total applied amount in the Soil Moisture (SM) and Evapotranspiration (ET) based methods was 229.1 mm, and 280 mm, respectively. The collected data were assessed using ANOVA at a 5% significance level. For every technique, yield values, yield attributes, and agronomic traits were computed. The result indicates that there is no appreciable variation among the factors. The net yield advantage was highest at 75% SM and lowest at 25% SM. Furthermore, compared to the ET-based approach, it was demonstrated that the SM-based method conserved approximately 18.2% of irrigation water. As a result, when producing crops that require a lot of water, like tomatoes, in areas with limited water resources, SM-based irrigation scheduling is preferable to ET-based irrigation scheduling.

Nitrogen Use Efficiency and Yield Levels Using Soluble and Controlled-release Urea Formulations in Tomato Production

This research study evaluated the suitability of controlled-release urea (CRU) as an alternate nitrogen (N) fertilizer source to conventional soluble urea (U) for tomato production under a humid, warm climate in coastal plain soils. Tomatoes are typically produced on raised plastic-mulched beds, where U is fertigated through multiple applications. On the other hand, CRU is applied once at planting, incorporated into soil before the raised beds are covered with plastic mulch. N source and management will likely impact tomato yield, N use efficiency (NUE), and apparent recovery of N fertilizer (APR). A 2-year field study was conducted on fall and spring tomato crops in north Florida to determine the crop N requirement and NUE in tomatoes (var. HM 1823) grown in sandy soils under a plastic-mulched bed system. In addition to a no N fertilizer treatment, three urea N sources [one soluble source and two polymer-coated CRU sources with different N release durations of 60 (CRU-60) and 75 (CRU-75) days] were applied at three N rates (140, 168, and 224 kg⋅ha−1). Across all N sources and N rates, fall yields were at least 20% higher than spring seasons. At the 140 kg⋅ha−1 N rate, APR and NUE were improved, especially when U was applied in fall tomato, whereas preplant CRUs improved N efficiency in spring tomato. Based on the lower APR values found in spring production seasons (0% to 16%) when compared with fall (57.1% to 72.6%), it can be concluded that residual soil N was an important source for tomatoes. In addition, the mean whole-plant N accumulation of tomato was 102.5 kg⋅ha−1, further indicating that reducing the N rate closer to crop N demand would greatly improve conventional vegetable production systems on sandy soils in north Florida. In conclusion, polymer-coated CRU and fertigation U applications were able to supply the N requirement of spring and fall tomato at a 38% reduction of the recommended N rate for tomato in Florida (224 kg⋅ha−1). Preliminary results show that adoption of CRU fertilizers can be considered a low-risk alternative N source for tomato production and the ease of applying CRU once during the bed preparation period for tomato may be an additional incentive.

Evaluating Dripper-Plants Spacing for Improving Tomato Yield and Water Productivity under the Drip-Irrigation System in the Sudanian Climate in Burkina Faso

Evaluating Dripper-Plants Spacing for Improving Tomato Yield and Water Productivity under the Drip-Irrigation System in the Sudanian Climate in Burkina Faso

Organic fertilizer application combined with seed inoculation using rhizobacteria on tomato yield and quality

Organic fertilizer application combined with seed inoculation using rhizobacteria enables increases in industrial tomato production. The objective of this work was to assess the synergistic effect of organic fertilizer application and seed inoculation with rhizobacteria on tomato yield and quality. A randomized complete block experimental design with four replication was used, in a 6×3 factorial arrangement consisted of six fertilizer sources (mineral fertilizer; cattle manure; and organic composts based on tomato, sugarcane bagasse, tomato + sugarcane; and tomato + sugarcane + banana stalk) and three different seed inoculation with rhizobacteria (a control, without inoculation; inoculation with RZB 18; and inoculation with LEMB 17). The evaluated fruit characteristics were: commercial and non-commercial yields; firmness; soluble solids content (SSC); industrial yield; titratable acidity (TA); SSC to TA ratio, and pH. The rhizobacteria significantly affected all evaluated characteristics. The highest mean industrial yields were obtained with the application of mineral fertilizer (7.59), tomato-based compost (7.99), and sugarcane bagasse-based compost (7.95 Mg ha-1). Although seed inoculation with rhizobacteria did not affect fruit yield and quality, organic composts based on tomato and sugarcane bagasse residues might be used as organic fertilizer for industrial tomato production.

Melatonin imparts tolerance to combined drought and high-temperature stresses in tomato through osmotic adjustment and ABA accumulation.

In recent years, environmental stresses viz., drought and high-temperature negatively impacts the tomato growth, yield and quality. The effects of combined drought and high-temperature (HT) stresses during the flowering stage were investigated. The main objective was to assess the effects of foliar spray of melatonin under both individual and combined drought and HT stresses at the flowering stage. Drought stress was imposed by withholding irrigation, whereas HT stress was imposed by exposing the plants to an ambient temperature (AT)+5°C temperature. The drought+HT stress was imposed by exposing the plants to drought first, followed by exposure to AT+5°C temperature. The duration of individual and combined drought or HT stress was 10 days. The results showed that drought+HT stress had a significant negative effect compared with individual drought or HT stress alone. However, spraying 100 µM melatonin on the plants challenged with individual or combined drought and HT stress showed a significant increase in total chlorophyll content [drought: 16%, HT: 14%, and drought+HT: 11%], Fv/Fm [drought: 16%, HT: 15%, and drought+HT: 13%], relative water content [drought: 10%, HT: 2%, and drought+HT: 8%], and proline [drought: 26%, HT: 17%, and drought+HT: 14%] compared with their respective stress control. Additionally, melatonin positively influenced the stomatal and trichome characteristics compared with stress control plants. Also, the osmotic adjustment was found to be significantly increased in the melatonin-sprayed plants, which, in turn, resulted in an increased number of fruits, fruit set percentage, and fruit yield. Moreover, melatonin spray also enhanced the quality of fruits through increased lycopene content, carotenoid content, titratable acidity, and ascorbic acid content, compared with the stress control. Overall, this study highlights the usefulness of melatonin in effectively mitigating the negative effects of drought, HT, and drought+HT stress, thus leading to an increased drought and HT stress tolerance in tomato.

Assessing the impact of oil palm husk-derived biochar on soil characteristics and tomato yield in Okitipupa, coastal agroecosystems

Innovative technologies using biochar were certified to mitigate the impacts of climate change and soil degradation on agriculture and ensure food security. An experiment was carried out in 2022 & 2023 cropping seasons to evaluate the effectiveness of biochar application rates at 10 t/ha, 7.5 t/ha, and 5 t/ha on soil properties and yield parameters of tomato varieties. The experiment was laid out in a RCBD replicated three times. The results show that application at 10 t/ha improved and increased pH, organic carbon, total N, and available P and K. Maximum fruit number/ha (686.2) and harvest weight (3452kg) were recorded at 7.5kg/ha. In comparison, 10 t/ha had the maximum biomass (dry weight) and harvest index compared to those of the control. The rate of 7.5 kg/ha of biochar could improve the yield, nutrient efficiency, and economic benefits of open-field tomato plants. It could be recommended for managing agricultural production.

A new technique for using gamma irradiation to enhance silver nanoparticles synthesized by chemical reduction and their effect on tomato early blight disease under field conditions

Early blight disease causes a significant loss in tomato production. This study focuses on the effective suppression of Alternaria solani, which causes huge losses in tomato yield. This research was conducted at the Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority Nuclear Research Centre. Infected plants were treated with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). Two chemical materials, sodium borohydride and trisodium phosphate, were used for the synthesized silver nanoparticles. 1% polyvinylpyridine (PVP) was used as a stabilizer agent. AgNPs were exposed to several doses of gamma irradiation (0, 1.5, 3, 6, 12, and 24) kilo Gray (kGy) in order to enhance and maximize the effect of AgNPs on Alternaria solani. UV–Vis spectroscopy (UV), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to characterize AgNPs; sodium borohydride and trisodium citrate were used for the chemical reduction. AgNPs and AgNPs + gamma irradiation led to increases in shoot fresh weight and shoot dry weight; they also elevated the antioxidant enzymes, as well as peroxides and catalase, when compared with control (untreated) plants. AgNPs and AgNPs + gamma irradiation decreased the disease severity compared with the control untreated. Our study not only corroborates established trends in nano-agriculture but also introduces novel insights into the specific effects of gamma irradiation on AgNP that led to a decrease in this size in the quantum dot range (3–10) nm, as shown in Tem. By drawing parallels with the work of esteemed researchers in the field.

Grafting of Tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum L.) onto Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.): Harvesting Double Crops from a Single Plant

Rapid Urbanization and industrialization have been overtaking land for food production at the global level. Further, climate change has necessitated the modification of the existing food production system to adapt the changing environmental situations. Grafting is a rapid and economical solution to improving the yield in Solanaceous vegetables. In this study, the effects of grafting tomato (cv. Garv) on potato (cv. Desiree) rootstock were evaluated for yield of tomato and potato in comparison to non-grafted tomato and non-grafted potato plants. The results showed that the yield of tomato was significantly higher in non-grafted tomato (11.05 t/ha) and tomato grafted on potato with decapitation of potato shoots (4.07 t/ha) compared to that of tomato grafted on potato without decapitation of potato shoots (0.94 t/ha). On the other hand, the yields of non-grafted potato (1.44 t/ha) and tomato grafted on potato without decapitation of potato shoots (1.00 t/ha) were statistically higher than that of tomato grafted on potato with the decapitation of potato shoots. There were no statistical differences between the treatments for dry matter content and Total Soluble Solutes (TSS) of tomato and potato. The yield of tomato of the grafted pomato was negatively correlated to the yield of potato rootstock, but it was not statistically different. The data from this study suggest grafting of tomato on potato with decapitation of potato shoots is recommended for obtaining higher yield of grafted tomato and without decapitation of potato shoots for higher yield of potato from grafted plants.

Water conservation in tomato production using deficit irrigation and SALTMED model under greenhouse conditions

The use of modeling for water conservation during irrigation is still in the research stage. There are many models can be used for this purpose, including Saltmed model. The SALTMED model is a holistic model can be used for different irrigation water and soil qualities, variety of crops, and water irrigation systems. This research aimed to interpret the tomato yield using different water quantities and qualities under greenhouse experiments. The trial included deficit irrigation with 3 treatments (80 %, 60 %, 40 % along with 100 % crop water requirements (ETc), with three water qualities (ECw 1.0, 2.3 and 3.6 dSm−1). The outcomes of the SALTMED model indicate the potential of the model to interpret soil-water content, salinity and tomato yield in regions having semi-arid climates under deficit irrigation strategies. Results of the SALTMED model revealed that data was underestimated. Furthermore, the values range of the CRM coefficient of the residual mass were 0.005–0.055, -0.01–0.02, and -0.02–0.04 for 0.9, 2.3 and 3.6 dSm−1, respectively. Most salinity showed the CRM values 0.18 to -0.02, 0.2 to -0.41, and -0.05 to -0.38 respectively, for the three irrigation water qualities. The values of observed and simulated data predicted a good relationship obtained. For soil water content and salinity, R2 values ranged between 0.80–0.99 and 0.74–0.99 respectively. Model efficiently simulates tomato yield outcomes under saline and freshwater. The correlation between the simulated and observed yield were 0.92, 0.94, and 0.79 for water quality of 1.0, 2.3 and 3.6 dSm−1, respectively. Finally, the SALTMED model showed good simulations of soil water content, soil salinity, and final tomato yield.