Minitomato cultivation with substrate under different fertigation management strategies

ABSTRACT The application of high level of fertilization and inadequate management of fertigation in tomato crop can promote increase of salinity of the solution, nutritional imbalance and physiological disorders in the plants, consequently reduces the productivity and the quality of the fruits. The aim of this study was to evaluate different fertigation strategies in growth and production of mini tomato plants cultivated with substrate in a greenhouse. The experimental design was in randomized complete blocks with four treatments and twenty replicates. The treatments corresponded to four fertigation strategies, as follows: T1 [(control) fertigation with leaching of 20%]; T2 fertigation throughout the day and irrigation at the end of the day with leaching of 20%; T3 irrigation with leaching of 20%, followed by fertigation in all activations of the irrigation system; T4 fertigation with leaching of 20% and reuse of the leached solution. Stem height and diameter, number of clusters, total and commercial fruit production, fruit size, fruit color, total titratable acidity, soluble solids content and fruit texture were evaluated. No significant differences were detected among the treatments in relation to the growth variables of the mini tomato plants. The strategies of fertigation tested do not influence significantly the growth of tomato plants. The T1 and T4 managements provide higher commercial production and fruits with higher content of soluble solids when compared with other management strategies evaluated. Considering the nutritional factor, we recommend to reuse the nutrient solution used in the tomato cultivation with substrate, correcting daily the electrical conductivity of the solution.

摘要 番茄栽培中过量施肥与灌溉施肥（fertigation）管理不当，会导致栽培液盐渍化加剧、植株营养失衡及生理障碍，进而降低果实产量与品质。
本研究旨在评估不同灌溉施肥策略对温室基质栽培迷你番茄植株生长与产量的影响。
本试验采用随机完全区组设计，设置4个处理、20次重复。供试处理共4种灌溉施肥策略，具体如下：T1（对照）：采用20%淋洗比例的灌溉施肥模式；T2：全天开展灌溉施肥，当日末进行20%淋洗量的灌溉；T3：先进行20%淋洗量的灌溉，随后在灌溉系统每次启动时同步施肥；T4：采用20%淋洗比例的灌溉施肥模式，并对淋出液进行回收复用。
测定指标包括株高、茎粗、果穗数、总产量与商品果产量、果实大小、果实色泽、总可滴定酸度、可溶性固形物含量及果实质地。
各处理间迷你番茄植株的生长指标均无显著差异，供试的灌溉施肥策略对番茄植株生长无显著影响。与其余供试管理策略相比，T1与T4处理可获得更高的商品果产量，且果实可溶性固形物含量更高。
从营养管理角度出发，建议对基质栽培番茄的营养液进行回收复用，并每日校正营养液的电导率。