Effect of Planting Geometry on Growth, Water Productivity, and Fruit Quality of Tomatoes under Different Soil Moisture Regimes

Mir Moazzam Ali Talpur, Hiba Shaghaleh, Amar Ali Adam Hamad, Tingting Chang, Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman, Muhammad Usman and Yousef Alhaj Hamoud ()
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Mir Moazzam Ali Talpur: College of Agricultural Science and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Hiba Shaghaleh: College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Amar Ali Adam Hamad: College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Tingting Chang: College of Agricultural Science and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman: Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
Muhammad Usman: College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Yousef Alhaj Hamoud: College of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 12, 1-16

Abstract: The present study investigated the impact of planting spacing on tomato crop growth, water productivity, and fruit quality under different water regimes. Thus, a field experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design in a factorial arrangement of treatments. The tomato plants were grown at three planting spacing patterns: 30 cm row-to-row planting spacing, 60 cm row-to-row planting spacing, and 90 cm row-to-row planting spacing, which were marked as (G 1 ), (G 2 ), and (G 3 ), respectively. For each planting spacing pattern, irrigation regimes, namely (I 1 ), (I 2 ), and (I 3 ), were established by setting the soil moisture content to 50%, 100%, and 150% of the reference evapotranspiration. The I 3 × G 2 combination resulted in the maximum values of plant height (68.2 cm), stem diameter (12.1 mm), and yield (41,269.9 kg/hm 2 ), providing the highest contents of protein (1.93 mg/kg), fat (0.81%), fiber (3.94%), and lycopene (4.00 mg/kg) of the fresh fruit. Conversely, the I 1 × G 1 led to the minimum values of plant height (37.3 cm), stem diameter (5.65 mm), and yield (7814.7 kg/hm 2 ), providing the lowest contents of protein (1.15 mg/kg), fat (0.50%), fiber (2.39%), and lycopene (2.15 mg/kg) of the fresh fruit. The I 1 × G 1 had the highest water productivity (25.06 kg/m 3 ) value, while the lowest WP (10.23 kg/m 3 ) value was achieved by I 3 × G 3 . While the I 1 × G 3 treatment minimized the uniformity coefficient and distribution uniformity, the I 3 × G 3 treatment maximized their values, indicating more uniform water distribution. Our findings indicate that the I 3 × G 2 combination can increase tomato productivity, growth, and fruit quality. However, the I 1 × G 1 performed better in terms of water productivity. The results of this study can positively contribute to improving tomato production systems’ sustainability, productivity, and quality under the increasing problem of climate change.

Keywords: water regime; planting spacing; water use efficiency; fruit quality; Solanum lycopersicum (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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