The Effects of Flower Pruning on Yield and Quality in Bunch Tomatoes Grown in Greenhouse

Abstract

This research was carried out in the greenhouses of Pamukkale University Menderes Basin Agricultural Application and Research Centre in order to determine the effects of different blossom pruning on yield and quality in Ayza F1 tomato cultivars. The experiment consisted three different applications; pruning group having 6 fruits in flower bunch, pruning group having 7 fruits in flower bunch and control group without pruning. As the quality criterion in the tomato cultivar, total amount of water soluble dry matter (TWSDM %), pH, titratable acidity (TA mval 100 ml-1), hardness of fruit flesh (Newton) and antioxidant content (%) were determined. In addition, fruit diameter (cm), fruit length (mm) and weight (g) were detected. Yield parameters such as total yield (g plant-1), marketable yield (g plant-1), number of fruits (number plant-1), average fruit weight (g fruit-1) were considered detailed. Flower pruning having 6 fruits was prominent in terms of marketable yield, fruit weight, fruit diameter, fruit length and dry matter (DM) values. The effects of the applications on the quality characteristics such as fruit index, TWSDM and pH were found to be insignificant and their effects on DM, TA, fruit flesh hardness and antioxidant amount were detected to be significant.