The crop yield and quality of tomato fruits depending on the sealing of crops under drip irrigation in the northern steppe of Ukraine

Abstract

Purpose. To determine the crop yield and quality of fruits depending on the sealing, to develop elements of technology of cultivation in sealed crops on drip irrigation in the conditions of the northern steppe of Ukraine. Methods. There were used general scientific methods, such as field, laboratory, measurement and calculation, comparative, mathematical-statistical, and system analysis. Results. The studies have shown that the donor plants (sugar corn, shallots, beans, lettuce, dill, watermelon, melon, cabbage) by the nature of the secretions were inactive against tomato germination (100‒105 conventional units of coumarin ‒ hereinafter UOC) on the scale of Matthew N. Based on the positive effect (increasing the germination of tomato seeds by 4%), there were identified the options for further field research with tomato compactors with sugar corn and shallots. The stimulating effect of tomato on sugar corn and shallots was established as well (the germination of seeds in co-germination with tomato has increased in compactors by 2‒12%, respectively). Thus, the tomato is not only a donor plant but also an acceptor plant, in the field the value of UOC was 102‒114. According to biometric indicators, when compacting tomato seedlings, the height of plants decreased slightly (by 2.4 and 1.6 cm, respectively, according to the experimental variant) ‒ due to shading, but it did not affect the yield and weight of marketable fruits from one bush (on average 26 pcs. weighing 59 g). Commodity yield of tomato fruits in pure sowing (42.2 t / ha) exceeded sowing tomato + corn and tomato + shallots by 2.7‒1.7 t / ha, respectively, but the shortage of harvest is insignificant and was compensated by an additional harvest of cobs of milk ripeness and shallots on a green feather. Findings. According to the seedling method of cultivation with compaction of tomato crops by the method of biotests, there were established such the most optimal crop compactors: sweet corn and shallots with green feathers. Compaction of tomato crops allows obtaining commodity yield at the level of 40.5 t / ha with additional crop yields: sugar corn ‒ 2.6 t / ha cobs of milk ripeness without wrappers for fresh consumption and 9.3 t / ha of green onion feathers shallots. This method of cultivation allows to obtain tomato fruits of high quality for industrial varieties, namely the content of dry solute at the level of 4.92‒5.18%.