Reuse of substrate and nutritive solution concentration on the cultivation of salad tomato

Abstract

Among the most modern techniques of vegetables production cultivation in substrate is highlighted. In this method the substrate and the nutritive solution are main components that deliver nutrients to the crop and directly influence the performance of the plants. The objective of this study was to evaluate the reuse of substrate with several concentration of the nutritive solution in cultivation of tomato plants of the salad group 'Paronset'. The experimental design was a randomized blocks in a factorial scheme 3x5, with four replicates. The plants were grown in coconut husk fiber, in three substrate reuse levels (new substrate, reused once and reused twice) and five concentrations of the nutritive solution recommended for the culture [25%; 50%; 100% (original solution); 150% and 200%]. The chemical and physical characterization of the substrate after cultivation was done such as fruit productivity and quality and nutritional status of the plants. Physical characteristics were only influenced when substrate was reutilized. Chemical characteristics of the substrate were influenced by both the reuse of the substrate and the concentration of the nutritive solution. It was observed that the nutritional status of the plants was influenced only by the concentration of the nutritive solution. It was also noted that the productivity and fruit mass decreased after the second reuse of the substrate. The use of the original solution (100%) allowed the highest productivity; however, the largest fruit mass was obtained with the most dilute solution (25%).