engleski

Effects of Substrate on Tomato Quality

Tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), cultivar 'Belle', were grown in a hydroponic system on different substrates during two years. Substrates used in the first year were slabs of rockwool, perlite, expanded clay and peat. Rockwool, coconut fibers and expanded clay were used in the second year. Slabs were dimensioned 100 cm x 15 cm x 7.5 cm. Three plants were planted into 11.25 L of substrate. The trial was laid out according to a randomized block scheme with four replicates, and sampling was carried out during three harvests in June and July. Fruits were analyzed for the contents of dry matter (%) and refraction °Brix, total acidity (% citric acid), pH, % NaCl and L-ascorbic acid. Dry matter values ranged from 5.10 to 5.73% in the first year and 5.29 to 5.63% in the second year. Refraction was between 3.7 and 4.3% in the first year and between 3.7 and 4.4% in the second year. Total acidity ranged 0.26 to 0.34% in the first year and 0.35 to 0.46% in the second year. pH values ranged 4.50 to 4.73 in the first year and 4.06 to 4.50 in the second year. Salt content ranged 0.09 to 0.13% in the first year and 0.11 to 0.15% in the second year. L-ascorbic acid content ranged 15.06 to 23.43 mg per 100 g of fresh raw material in the first year and 20.19 to 28.73 mg per 100 g in the second year. Testing of differences in tomato composition grown on different substrates revealed significant differences in the first year for dry matter content and pH values on expanded clay. There were differences in L-ascorbic acid content for tomatoes grown on rockwool. Differences in total acidity and dry matter content for tomatoes grown on coconut fibers and pH values for tomatoes grown on expanded clay in the second year.

tomato; chemical composition; hydroponic system; substrates

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