Influence of Growing Substrates on the Production Potential and Post-Harvest Storage Capacity of Tomato Fruits from the Buzău 1600 Variety

Summary

This study investigated the influence of various growing substrates on the dry matter and total sugar content of Buzău 1600 tomato fruits, a variety developed at the Buzău Vegetable Research Station and preserved at the Buzău Plant Genetic Resources Bank, Romania. The substrates tested included V1 (Control - Coco peat), V2 (Perlite 2mm), V3 (Perlite 2mm + peat), V4 (Perlite 4mm), V5 (Perlite 4mm + peat), V6 (Perlite 5mm), and V7 (Perlite 5mm + peat). The study further evaluated the effects of a 10-day storage period at 10°C on the fruits grown in V1, V4, V5, V6, and V7 substrates. Results showed that fruits from the V1 (Control - Coco peat) substrate retained more water and had the lowest dry matter content (6.83%), likely due to the higher water retention capacity of peat. In contrast, fr