Sistemas de poda en líneas de tomate (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) de larga vida de anaquel

Abstract

In some assays on the effect of pruning in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentumMill), some results are contradictory due, probably, to the environmental conditions of the study is, to the techniques in collecting data, or to the criterion of the researcher in the interpreta tion of the results. This is the reason why in this assay the effect of the combinations of different systems of pruning in the lines of long life on shelf were studied: TSAN-101SV, TSAN-102SV and TSAN-103SV in tomatoes of undetermined habit and TSAN 104SV, semi-indetermined, on earliness, fruit size, yield (export, national and commercial) and quality, during the agricultural cycle spring-summer 1997 with three periods of harvest. The following treatments of pruning were studied: (Pl), elimination of secondary and ter tiary shoots under the bifurcation fork; (P2), pruning at two stems, and (P3), pruning at three stems at randomized blocks with factorial design 4x3 with five repetitions per treat ment. In yield for export, national and commercial, TSAN-103SV excelled the others with medium and small fruit, while TSAN-l0lSV did with bigger fruit, and both concen trated their production in the first period; the prunings P2 and P3 increased the national yield, the diameter of the fruit and concentrated their production in the first period, without influence in the precocious harvest. The Pl pruning increased the export yield and concen trated its production in the second period. The pruning systems Pl and P3 were the best ones with respect to the commercial yield. The P2 pruning diminished the commercial yield, but it had better quality in size, health, appearance, in addition to minor arrearage.