Effects of water stress on processing tomatoes yield, quality and water use efficiency with plastic mulched drip irrigation in sandy soil of the Hetao Irrigation District

Yield and water use of cherry tomato under water availability and potassium doses

“…Water consumption data in the present study corroborate those of Kuşçu et al (2014) and Zhang et al (2016), who worked with tomato under water depths and observed increment in evapotranspiration as the applied water depth increased. Bowles et al (2016) worked with tomato under deficit condition and observed that there was reduction in the water depth applied.…”

“…For yield, Santana et al (2010) and Zhang et al (2016) observed in tomato under water depths a behavior similar to that found in the present study, in which water stress, through either excess or deficit, reduces the production potential. Kuşçu et al (2014), Candido et al (2015), Bogale et al (2016) and Bowles et al (2016) worked with tomato under water deficit condition and also observed reduction in yield.…”

Tomato grafting impacts on yield and fruit quality under water stress conditions

“…This indicates that a reduction in water accumulation resulted in a decrease in water content per fruit and an increase in the soluble solids and VC content (Agbemafle et al, 2014;Zhang et al, 2016). Similarly, Patane et al (2011) found that VC, TSS, and TA contents were higher under water stress (50% ETc) than under no water stress (100% ETc).…”

“…The reduction in yield and its components with increasing water stress levels in this study was consistent with the findings of previous studies. Birhanu & Tilahun (2010) and Zhang et al (2016) found a reduction in the weight and quantity of fruits in plants exposed to water stress. Water stress reduces the number of fruits and flowers, and fruit set percentage of a plant (Pek et al, 2014).…”

“…The use of a suitable rootstock during the grafting process is the key factor in determining the quality of the tomato fruit (Sánchez-Rodríguez et al, 2012). Various studies have shown that irrigation at a stress level (e.g., 50% ETc) has beneficial effects on tomato quality in terms of total solid (TS), total soluble solid (TSS), and vitamin C (VC) levels (Alaoui et al, 2015;Zhang et al, 2016). Irrigation regimes and grafting strategies are quite novel tools for improving water-stress tolerance and quality of tomato (Sánchez-Rodríguez et al, 2012;Sánchez-Rodríguez et al, 2014).…”