Nitrogen supply affects seed yield and quality in tomato plants
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Date
2022
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Abstract
Nitrogen fertilization is one of the main practices in agriculture and its effects on yield and quality of most commodity products are widely known. However, the nitrogen response in seed production is still not well understood, even in important species such as tomato. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of nitrogen fertilization on tomato seed yield and quality. Tomato, cv. Moneymaker, plants were grown in pots with a soilless media and fertigated with one of three nutrient solutions differing in its N concentration: 5, 15, and 25 mM. Yield and quality were measured for both fruit and seed. Fruit weight decreased and soluble solids increased significantly with increasing N fertilization. Seed weight also decreased with increasing N fertilization. Most common seed quality attributes such as standard germination and germination index did not vary significantly among treatments. Physiological dormancy was observed in all treatments and was
evidenced by faster germination in evaluations made at 8 months than at 5 months after harvest. The 25 mM treatment exhibited reduced dormancy; however, this effect was much less than the after-ripening time. Also, the same treatment showed greater longevity. Although the results indicated that higher nitrogen fertilization had an impact on seed quality attributes such as dormancy and longevity, the effect was only observed in most restrictive tests and did not have an influence on most common seed quality attributes. Therefore, nitrogen fertilization in tomato seed production could aim at higher
yields without a significant decrease in seed quality.
Description
Tesis (Magíster en Fisiología y Producción Vegetal)--Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, 2022
Keywords
Tomato, Nitrogen fertilization, Seed quality, Vigor, Dormancy, Longevity