Effect of potassium, cultivar, and season on tomato blotchy ripening, graywall, and fruit quality /

Abstract

Major Department: Horticultural Science Tomatoes ( Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) from four different cultivars, 'Healani', 'Homestead 24', 'Walter' and 'Flora-Dade' were grown under five different applied soil K rates (0, 93, 186, 372, and 745 kg K/ha) during spring and fall seasons to determine the influence of K rate, cultivar, and season on blotchy ripening, graywall, and fruit quality.Under both spring and fall field conditions, fruits from all four cultivars had more blotchy ripening with decreasing K fertility. At all K rates and with each cultivar both external blotch and internal blotch were more severe in the spring than in the fall. Yellow shoulder, the primary external blotch symptom, was severe in the spring with the cultivars 'Homestead-24', 'Walter', and 'Flora-Dade'.'Healani'showed resistance to yellow shoulder blotch. During x the fall, yellow shoulder blotch was not a severe problem in any cultivar. 'Healani' was generally the most blotch resistant cultivar and 'Flora-Dade' was the most blotch susceptible. There was more K in both the leaf and pericarp tissue of all cultivars with increasing soil K rate in both seasons.The differential susceptibility between cultivars to blotchy ripening was not associated with cultivar differences in leaf K or pericarp K content during either season.A graywall inducing bacteria, Erwinia herbicola (Dye), was inoculated in the outer pericarp of immature green tomato fruit to determine the effect of cultivar and K fertility on tissue susceptibility to graywall. All four tomato cultivars developed more graywall with low K (0 kg K/ha) compared to high K (745 kg R/ha) during the spring season.Only 'Flora-Dade' developed less graywall with increasing K rate during the fall season. During both seasons, 'Flora-Dade' and 'Homestead-24' were the two most graywall resistant cultivars while 'Healani' and 'Walter' were the most susceptible cultivars.Natural graywall (contrasted to bacterially induced graywall) appeared in 'Healani' and 'Homestead-24' fruits grown with low K treatments in a sand culture greenhouse experiment. Both cultivars were free of natural graywall with the high K treatment. 'Flora-Dade' was completely resistant to natural graywall with all K treatments.Environment, cultivar, and applied soil K all influenced the quality of field grown tomato fruit. During the spring each cultivar except 'Flora-Dade' had a higher pericarp soluble solids and reducing sugar content under 745 kg K/ha than 0 kg K/ha. During the fall only xi 'Healani' and 'Flora-Dade' had higher soluble solids with 745 kg K/ha, but no difference in reducing sugar content was found between applied soil K rates. 'Healani' was the only cultivar during both seasons to increase in pericarp dry weight with increasing K rate.During both seasons and with each cultivar there was an increase in pericarp acidity with increasing K rate.Fruit from all cultivars decreased in pericarp pH with increasing soil K rate during the spring season. 'Healani' had the highest and 'Flora-Dade' had the lowest pericarp ...

Potassium‐transport rate from root to shoot unrelated to potassium‐use efficiency in tomato grown under low‐potassium stress

“…Low K stress in tomato can result in slow and stunted growth, and great reduction in quality and quantity of fruit (Picha and Hall, 1981;Winsoretal., 1961). Thus, the importance ofK to tomato has been extensively studied (Chen and Gabehnan, 1995;Figdoreetal., 1989;Makmuretal., 1978;Rush and Epstein, 1981;Wakhloo, 1980;Widders and Lorenz, 1979).…”

Effets de la fertilisation azotée et des conditions d'application de l'éthéphon sur la productivité de la tomate de transformation cv. Heinz 2653

“…CANADIAN JOURNAL OF PLANT SCIENCE 1i6 d Ia fertilisation potassique et aux conditions environnementales (Picha et Hall 1981;Dick et Shattuck 1987). Mais si plusieurs recherches ont bien caract6ris6 I'effet du K sur les rendements et la qualit6 de la tomate (Zehler et Forster 1972), en particulier pour les productions en serres.…”

Estimating soil potassium availability for processing tomato production

“…Soil K supply affects both fruit yield and quality; tomato fruit quality traits reported to be affected by K nutrition include soluble solids content (2), lycopene content (3), and fruit color uniformity (4,5). has a high potassium requirement.…”