Performance of salad tomato in function of nutrient solution concentration and reuse of substrate

• Grant number: 11/11912-5
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: October 01, 2011
• End date: March 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Crop Science
• Principal Investigator: Leila Trevisan Braz
• Grantee: Leila Trevisan Braz
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The concentration of nutrient solutions in fertigation is a factor which needs to be assessed on the production system and can have a direct influence on the performance of plants grown in reused substrates. This project aims to evaluate the performance of tomato salad in different concentrations of the nutrient solution, in reused and new substrate, in different growing seasons. The 'Paronset' hybrid will be cultivated in a substrate composed of coconut husk fiber granules fertigated with nutrient solution recommended for culture. The five concentrations of the nutrient solution will be: C25 - 25% of the recommended concentration, C50 - 50% of the recommended concentration; C100 - 100% of the recommended concentration (original), C150 - 150% of the recommended concentration, and C200 - 200% recommended concentration. The project will be conducted in three successive crops. The first crop will be held in the summer only with new substrates. Later there will be the second crop in winter, where new substrate is added and maintained those from the previous crop. And in the last crop, which will be held in the summer of next year, the substrates are kept from the previous experiments and new substrates will be added. The assessments consist of productive and qualitative characteristics of the fruit, the nutritional status of plants and changes physical / chemical properties of substrates during each growing season. (AU)