Abstract:
A greenhouse study was conducted to evaluate the re
sponse of cherry tomato cultivar
Dulcito RZ to different irrigation levels and fruit
pruning treatments. Treatments were
three irrigation levels [50, 75, and 100%, based on
the crop Evapotranspiration (ETc)],
and three fruit pruning treatments (6, 8, and 10 fr
uits truss
-1
). Results showed that the
highest irrigation level (100% ETc) increased fruit
weight and size, and total and
marketable yield. However, water stress treatment (
50% ETc) increased fruit quality
traits (total soluble solids, titratable acidity, v
itamin C, and total sugars). Plants pruned to
6 fruits truss
-1
yielded a heavier and larger fruit size, while unp
runed plants had smaller
fruit size with a significant increase in total and
marketable yield due to increased
number of fruits plant
-1
. The increased incidence of fruit cracking with lo
wer fruit load (6
fruits truss
-1
) or with higher irrigation level (100% ETc) were r
elated with the larger fruit
size. The 50%
ETc
and full fruits truss
-1
(zero fruit pruning) treatments caused the
highest values of irrigation water use efficiency (
25.6-25.8 and 29.9-30.4 kg m
-3
,
respectively). To maximize marketable yield of cher
ry tomato and conserving irrigation
water, it is recommended to apply 10 fruits truss
-1
pruning treatment along with the
medium irrigation water level (75% ETc) under green
house conditions.
Keywords:
Fruit cracking, Irrigation water use efficiency, Ma
rketable yield.
