Agricultural and Physiological Responses of Tomato Plants Grown in Different Soilless Culture Systems with Saline Water under Greenhouse Conditions

Abstract

Tomato is the most important horticultural crop in the world. The yields for this crop are highest in Southeastern Spain. In this work we studied a commercial variety of tomato, with different soilless culture systems (deep flow technique, nutrient film technique, and the perlite substrate) and three levels of salinity (2.2, 6.3, and 10.2 dS·m −1 ) typical of Southeastern Spain. The irrigation management was carried out for optimizing the water use efficiency. Alterations in the water status of the plants, Cl − and Na + toxicity, and nutritional imbalances altered the vegetative growth and physiology of the plants. The marketable yield was affected by both soilless culture system and salinity. Regarding the soilles culture system, yield decreased in the order: deep flow technique > perlite > nutrient film technique. The salinity treatments improved the fruits quality by increasing the total soluble solids and titratable acidity. Plants cultivated with the nutrient film technique had the highest concentrations of Cl − and Na + and the highest Na + /K + ratio. The concentrations of Cl − and Na + in the plants were not related directly to the yield loss. Therefore, the influence of the toxicity, osmotic effect, and nutritional imbalance seems to have been responsible for the yield loss.

Cost–benefit analysis of tomato in soilless culture systems with saline water under greenhouse conditions

“…the NFT system. 21 However, this improvement in quality was not accompanied by an increase in the price (see below).…”

“…In this experiment, commercial unit production values lower than 0.55 kg kg −1 were found, probably due to the characteristics of the tomato plant used (cherry tomato). The plants grown with the DFT system were larger and more productive, even in conditions of high salinity . However, the commercial unit production was smaller, due to the low density of the plantation.…”

“…Salinity treatment improved the quality of the fruits by increasing the total soluble solids and titratable acidity, particularly in the NFT system . However, this improvement in quality was not accompanied by an increase in the price (see below).…”

“…The plants grown with the DFT system were larger and more productive, even in conditions of high salinity. 21 However, the commercial unit production was smaller, due to the low density of the plantation. Its WUE was greater due to its lower consumption of nutrient solution.…”

Influence of Mixed Substrate and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi on Photosynthetic Efficiency, Nutrient and Water Status and Yield in Tomato Plants Irrigated with Saline Reclaimed Waters

“…Lower C i would normally be expected to be accompanied by lower stomatal conductance (g s ). However, by the end of the experiment, C i had not decreased significantly, suggesting that nonstomatal factors were also occurring in the limitation of CO 2 assimilation activity [54][55][56]. In our case, qP was increased or sometimes not affected by the salinity level of the reclaimed water used, which was an indication that the proportion of reaction centres remaining open was similar under both control and saline conditions [57].…”