Distribution of nutrients in the root zone affects yield, quality and blossom end rot of tomato fruits

Summary

This hydroponic study demonstrated that distributing contrasting nutrient concentrations across spatially divided root systems can substantially improve tomato yield and reduce blossom end rot whilst maintaining fruit quality. Applying high electrical conductivity solution to one root portion and low or zero EC to the other produced 40% higher yields than uniform high concentration treatments, with BER incidence falling from 88% to 12%. The findings suggest that non-uniform nutrient availability in the root zone offers a practical approach to balancing yield, quality and physiological disorder prevention in protected tomato cultivation.

Regional applicability

The study was conducted under controlled hydroponic conditions and may have limited direct transferability to UK field-grown or soil-based systems, though the underlying principles of nutrient distribution management could be relevant to protected cultivation (glasshouse tomatoes), which represents a significant UK horticultural sector. Application to outdoor or organic UK production would require validation under local soil and climatic conditions.

Key measures

Fresh weight of mature fruits, blossom end rot incidence (percentage of affected fruits), fruit length (mm), titratable acidity, soluble solids, electrical conductivity (EC) of nutrient solutions (dS m⁻¹)

Outcomes reported

The study measured tomato fruit yield, quality metrics (titratable acidity and soluble solids), and incidence of blossom end rot (BER) under different nutrient concentration distributions in the root zone. Findings showed that non-uniform nutrient supply to divided root systems can maintain high fruit quality whilst reducing BER incidence compared to uniform high concentration treatments.

Topic tags