Effect of irrigation regime and application of kaolin on yield, quality and water use efficiency of tomato

Abstract

a b s t r a c tModern agriculture is faced with two tasks: (1) to produce enough food for a growing global population, and (2) to ensure satisfactory crop quality while using water resources efficiently. A study of the effect of kaolin on the yield, quality and water use efficiency of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), grown under different irrigation regimes, is reported in the paper. The research was conducted in an open field with carbonate chernozem soil, at Stara Pazova (40 km north of Belgrade, Serbia). It lasted for three years (2011, 2012, and 2013). The experimental setup was a two-factorial, completely random block system, with three replications. The first factor was the irrigation regime and the second the application of kaolin. Two irrigation treatments were studied: (a) full irrigation (F), covering 100% of ETc (crop evapotranspiration), and (b) deficit irrigation (D) at 50% of ETc. The kaolin treatments were: (a) control treatment, without kaolin (C) and treatment with a 5% suspension of kaolin (K).On average, the highest fresh tomato fruit yields were achieved under full irrigation, with kaolin (FK) (21.0 kg m −2 ). The FK treatment also resulted in the greatest dry weight of the fruits (1.1 kg m −2 ). The average fruit weight was rather uniform and ranged from 71.7 g with DC to 75.4 g with DK. The average sugar and lycopene content was quite uniform over the study period, while the irrigation regime had a significant effect on the average organic acid content and total antioxidant activity. Deficit irrigation treatments resulted in a higher organic acid content and higher total antioxidant activity than full irrigation. The application of kaolin had a greater effect of the water use efficiency of tomato than the irrigation treatment.

Horticultural Performance of Greenhouse Cherry Tomatoes Irrigated Automatically Based on Soil Moisture Sensor Readings

“…The accelerated increase in the world's population and the unpredictable effects of climate change in agriculture require using natural resources like soil and water more efficiently to produce healthy and sustainable food [1]. Protected agriculture has been widely used in recent years to produce vegetables in order to improve agricultural systems' productivity and quality and ensure consistency in production [2].…”

Aplicación foliar de caolinita y Ascophyllum nodosum (L.) Le Jolis en chile dulce (Capsicum annuum L.)

“…En otros ensayos, la aplicación de caolinita no provocó cambios en el peso del fruto, en comparación con el testigo, en los cultivos de mango (Abd-Allah et al, 2013) y tomate (Djurovic et al, 2016); esto mismo sucedió en el presente trabajo para los frutos de primera y segunda calidad de chile dulce.…”

Response of Yield and Quality of Tomato Grown in Unheated Greenhouse to Irrigation and Fertilization With Different Rates

“…Modern agriculture faces the challenge, on the one hand, to maintain high yields and crop quality, while increasing water use efficiency, and on the other hand, to reduce the amount of pollutants from agricultural activities (Djurović et al, 2016;Hou M. et al, 2017;Tang et al, 2016). Inefficient irrigation and fertilization can compromise yields, degrade crop quality, and provoke the accumulation of nitrates and pesticides in soil and groundwater (Xing Ying-ying et al, 2015).…”