Abstract
Growth of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) seedlings under low temperature stress was investigated using several cultivars to estimate suitable rootstocks for direct transplanting of plug seedlings under low temperature condition. Plants were grown in a growth chamber at 25°C for 3 weeks, and at 10°C for the following 3 weeks. The increase in dry weight of shoots during the 10°C period showed a maximum in ‘Kagemusya’ followed by ‘Anka-T’, ‘Shin-meito’. ‘Kagemusya’ and‘Anka-T’ had a greater dry weight of roots; both lateral and main roots increased greatly in ‘Kagemusya’ and ‘Anka-T’. The cultivars were divided into high and low groups for the triphenyl-tetrazoliumchloride (TTC) reduction rate of roots under the 10°C condition. The rate was highest in ‘Kagemusya’, ‘Anka-T’ and‘Shin-meito’, all of which had a high increase in the dry weight of shoots. From these findings, it is suggested that the growth of tomato rootstocks under low temperature stress differed with each cultivar, and ‘Kagemusya’ showed the best growth. Hence, ‘Kagemusya’ is considered to be suitable for direct transplanting of tomato plug seedlings especially under low temperature conditions.
