RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SOIL LEAF AND FRUIT POTASSIUM CONTENTS IN THE GREENHOUSE TOMATO CULTIVATION

Cevdet Fehmi ÖZKAN Batı Akdeniz Agricultural Research Institute-Antalya Nevin ERYÜCE Egean University Agricultural Faculty Dep. of Soil Sciences and Plant Nutrition Bornova-İZMİR

• Greenhouse vegetable production within the agricultural sector has a special signifigance in Turkey and ranked in the third place within the countries located in Mediterreanean basin with 36089.3 ha field after Spain and Italy. • Antalya (%47), İçel (%29) and Muğla (%10) located near the Mediterranian are main greenhouse centers in Turkey

%10

%47 %29

• Tomato is the top of the list in view of protected cultivation in the world and Turkey. • Tomatoes dominate with % 45 of greenhouse vegetable crop area in Turkey.

% 45

% 20

% 5.7 •

Cucumbers, pepper and eggplants are also important crops. % 5.6

•

• •

The vegetables grown in protected cultivation system require much more plant nutrient element since the hybrid varieties having high yield property and longer cultivation period compared to open field. Tomato requires much more K than other elements. The tomato grown under climatic condition of Mediterranean, uptake 95 kg N/ ha, 12 kg P/ha, 108 kg K/ha by foliage and 1.8 kg N, 0.17 kg P, 3.13 kg K by 1 tonne fruit (Papadoupolos, 2005).

Potassium have many vital metabolic, physiological and biochemical functions in plants. The yield and the quality increase under the effects and the functions of K in the crop plants. Potassium not only affects the enzyme activation, the rate of photosynthesis, the transport of water and nutrients and sugars, it also increases protein content of plants, maintains turgor, water loss and wilting. Fertilization with high K provides resistance to abiyotic stress as cold, drought, salinity, unconvenient other soil conditions and biotic stress as disease.

• Potassium is required for plant growth at the first stage of the plant and regularly fruit ripening at harvest period.

Puffiness

• The red colour formation does increase on tomatoes due to high synthesis of carotens such as lycopen by sufficient K nutrition. Blotchy ripennig

• Potassium has positive effect and diminishing efficiency on fruit deformation caused by blotchy ripening, green shoulder, gold speck, and puffiness. Gold speck

• The plant reared with sufficient K may produce much more yield even they are under stress conditions (Winsor and Adams, 1987; Papadoupolos, 1998). Pox, fleck

Objectives • In this study were determined – the interactions between • Soil-plant K contents • Soil-fruit K contents • Plant-fruit K contents

and – the interactions between • Some soil properties of soil and plant, fruit K contents

in protected tomatoes cultivation.

Material and Method In this study were carried out in 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 single crop season grown tomato.

Soil, leaf and fruit samples were collected from 32 greenhouse in 1st year 45 greenhouse in 2nd year

Soil and leaf samples were collected at first fruit set period.

Fruit samples in 2th truss ripennig period.

Method of Analysis • • • • • • •

pH and EC of the soils were analysed in 1:2.5 soil and water mixture Texture of soil was tested with hydrometer method by Bouyoucos CaCO3 was detected with Scheibler calcimeter method Organic matter was determined with Walkley-Black method Total N was analysed with modified Kjeldahl method Available P was determined with Olsen method Available K, Ca and Mg were determined by using 1 N ammonium acetate extraction

• K content of leaf and fruit samples were determined with wet digestion (1HNO3-4HClO4) by atomic absorbtion spectrometer • Correlation and regression analysis were applied with Jump 5.01 (2002) .

Result and Discussion: RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Table 1: Some physical and chemical properties of greenhouse soils

Minimum

Maximum

Mean

pH

6.78

8.53

7.87

CaCO3 %

1.42

47.56

13.48

EC µmhos/cm

330

2950

1034

Org. Matter %

0.92

5.32

2.59

Total N %

0.09

0.44

0.20

P mg kg-1

53

331

173

K mg kg-1

133

1212

573

Ca mg kg-1

1307

4140

2804

Mg mg kg-1

94

1832

657

Table 2: Classification of some physical and chemical properties of greenhouse soils Classification

pH (Kellog,1952)

EC µmhos/cm (Dellavalle,1992)

CaCO3 % (Evliya,1964)

Organic matter % (Thun et al., 1955)

Texture

Number of samples

%

6.9 – 7.3 7.4 – 7.8 7.9 – 8.4 8.5