EFFECT OF PLANT DENSITY AND FRUIT THINNING ON TOMATO YIELD AND FRUIT SIZE

Abstract

The effect of different population densities and fruit thinning on yield and fruit size was evaluated on tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) cv. Daniela grow under greenhouse and trimmed to three clusters per plant. The substrate was red volcanic sand which was irrigated through a drip system with a balanced nutrient solution. Four population densities (6, 8, 9 and 12 plants/m² ) were combined with three fruit thinning intensities (without thinning, thinned to three and thinned to four fruits per cluster) for a total of 12 treatments. A split-plot design with four replications was used, assigning the plots to plant densities and the subplots to thinning levels. The highest density produced yielded the highest yield (19.94 kg m^-2) and the smallest fruits (125 g). The highest percent of large fruits (diameter between 6 and 8 cm) was obtained with 6 plants/m² combined with clusters thinned to three fruits. However, with 12 plants/m² there were 59 more large size fruits/m² than with 6 plants/m². In plants/m² fruits/m² the average of plant densities, the treatment without fruit thinning produce 118 large fruits/m² , against 72 in the treatment with clusters thinned to three fruits.