Row spacing and pruning regimes on organically grown cherry tomato

Abstract

The effects of branch number and plant densities on organically grown cherry tomato yield and fruit quality were studied. Labor costs for pruning were also assessed. The essay was conducted at the experimental fields of the Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from September 2004 to January 2005. A factorial design was used combining three row spacings (0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 m), two cherry tomato cultivars (hybrid 'Super-Sweet' and a local self pollinated 'Perinha') and three pruning regimes (free growth, one branch per plant and two branches per plant). The row spacing treatment of 0.6 x 1.5 m resulted in lower number of fruits when compared to the 0.4 x 1.5 m treatment, however, producing fruits with higher individual average mass, which resulted in similar final yield. These yields were higher than the 0.8 m treatment. Yield increases due to the higher number of plants per area were mostly due to the increase of fruit number, which compensated for the decrease of fruit size and mass. The 'free growth' treatment yielded similarly to the two branches per plant treatment. The labor costs were lower under 'free growth' due to the absence of pruning. Both cultivars responded similarly to plant population and pruning regimes.

Linear relationships between cherry tomato traits

“…AZEVEDO et al (2010) andPEIL et al (2014) verified an increased cherry tomato production in dense cultures, which corroborated the results found in this study. High density planting leads to a reduction in the number of tomatoes per plant due to increased competition between plants.…”

Planting density and arrangement for the mechanized spraying of vertically staked tomatoes

“…These results indicate that, for t o m a t o m e c h a n i z e d s p r a y i n g , planting arrangements in double rows significantly increase yield and fruit quality in relation to plantings in single rows, which is likely to be due to the larger in-row spacing in double rows in relation to single rows. Broadening inrow spacing increases fruit production per plant up to a threshold (Azevedo et al, 2010). Thus, for a given plant density, arrangements with larger spacing between plants result in higher yields, as we observed.…”

“…Decreases in fruit quality (fruit grading and mass) related to increases in planting density are well described in literature for tomatoes (Azevedo et al, 2010;Wamser et al, 2009Wamser et al, , 2012 and are due to competition between plants (Papadopoulos & Pararajasingham, …”

“…Data adjustments resulted in linear models and, therefore, no maximum technical efficiency was reached within the planting density range studied. Effects of planting density on increasing tomato yield are well described in literature (Azevedo et al, 2010;Wamser et al, 2009Wamser et al, , 2012. Nevertheless, determination of the optimum density, in which maximum marketable fruit yield would be reached, has been receiving little attention.…”

Densidad y manejo de ejes en plantas injertadas de tomate indeterminadas en invernadero

“…Esto coincide con lo señalado por Azevedo et al (2010) en donde en cultivo de tomate cherry, plantado a 0,6x1,5 m compensó su producción respecto del plantado a 0,4x1,5 m al alcanzar un diámetro y peso promedio de fruto mayor.…”