Evaluation of ten cultivars of determinate tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.), grown under different climatic conditions

Abstract

The influence of different climatic conditions on fruit yield and quality of 10 determinate tomato cultivars (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.) was studied. The experiments were conducted in the mediteranean and central regions of Slovenia. The plants were grown on an open field in the Dragonja valley and Ljubljana and in a low tunnel in Ljubljana. Data indicated that the marketable yield was significantly higher in the Dragonja valley than in Ljubljana. The average yield per plant grown in the Dragonja valley was 3.02 kg, grown on the field in Ljubljana 0.6 kg and in the low tunnel 1.0 kg. The highest marketable yield among the salad tomatoes was obtained with ‘Stormy F1’ (4.05 kg per plant) and among the processing tomatoes with ‘Hypeel 108 F1’ (4.7 kg per plant) and ‘Centurion F1’(4.1 kg per plant). Those cultivars had some good quality characteristics, important for their application (firmness, redness of skin, thickness of pericarp and succulence). Our research documented a significant yield enhancement of determinate tomato in low tunnel production for the central part of Slovenia.

Keywords

• determinate tomato
• Lycopersicum esculentum L.
• cultivars
• climatic conditions
• yield
• fruit quality