Water Availability and Potassium Doses in Cherry Tomato Quality

Abstract

The quality of cherry tomato fruits is directly related to the management strategies used in the production system, such as irrigation and fertilization. This study aimed to assess the quality of cherry tomato fruits cultivated under water availability and potassium fertilization. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse in pots of 12 dm 3 of an Oxisol. The experimental design was a randomized block design in a 5 2 fractional factorial arrangement with five water availabilities in the soil (4, 14, 24, 34, and 44-kPa), five potassium doses (0, 125, 250, 375, and 500 mg dm-3) and with four blocks. Irrigation was performed with a semi-automated drip irrigation system with soil moisture monitoring by the Diviner 2000 ® capacitance probe. The assessed variables in fruits were longitudinal and transversal diameter and pulp thickness, fruit shape index, total soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (TA), the SS/TA ratio, and vitamin C. The data were submitted to statistical analyses at 5% probability error, with analysis of variance by the F-test and polynomial regression. Fruit size presents a reduction as water availability decreased. The total soluble solids have a higher concentration at a potassium dose of 326 mg dm-3. The quality of cherry tomato fruits cultivated in an Oxisol is influenced by water availability and potassium doses.

Intelligent System for Monitoring Water Content and Solute Concentrations in Soil Cultivated with Fertigated Lisianthus

“…Silva et al [17], studying fertigated crops in a substrate composed of coconut fiber, found the feasibility of using solution extractors to monitor the concentration of nutrients in the soil solution. [33] and [29] also came to the conclusion that the use of soil solution extractors is a viable alternative for ionic monitoring during the cycle of crops fertigated with high frequency.…”

“…Intelligent systems for properly managing fertilizers and water in soil solution can be used in protected environments to minimize environmental contamination from fertigation leaching and, consequently, considerable savings of water and fertilizers are conciliated with high yields and greater water use efficiency [15,16,4,17] besides prevention and control of soil salinization in the intensively irrigated areas [3]. In these systems, the use of Time Domain Reflectometry and solution extractors associated with a mass balance equation of the applied solution [18,19] is a key tool that assists in monitoring and estimation of moisture content, controlling salinity, and nutrient application [20].…”

MOISTURE LIMITS AND POTASSIUM CONCENTRATIONS IN THE SOIL SOLUTION FOR CULTIVATION OF LISIANTHUS (Eustoma grandiflorum) FERTIGATED UNDER PROTECTED ENVIRONMENT CONDITIONS

“…The first one refers to the increase in the electrical conductivity of the soil solution due to an increase in the concentration of KCl, a salt used as a source of potassium and characterized by having a high salt index, in addition to the presence of the chloride ion (Cl − ), which is potentially toxic to a large number of ornamental species. According toSilva et al (2018), high concentrations of some fertilizers can compromise the absorption of water and nutrients as a result of the decrease in the osmotic potential of the solution near the rhizosphere. Even though classic symptoms of the salinity effect were not observed in lisianthus plants, the reduction in LAI and, consequently, leaf surface, can be justified by the plant's attempt to reduce water loss as a strategy to adapt to the osmotic stress condition.The second possible explanation may be related to the higher potassium concentration available to the plant, which can become more efficient in photosynthetic…”