Analysis of Dry Matter Production and Improvement in High Soluble Solids Fruits Production in Tomato Grown Using Short-term, Low-truss Crop Management: A Review

Abstract

Short-term, low-truss (STLT) crop management is used in commercial greenhouses in Japan, usually for greenhouse tomatoes for year-round harvest and sale. When STLT crop management was first developed, it was used to produce high-Brix tomatoes by managing stress control through water and nutrient supply. It has recently been used by regular tomato growers. In STLS crop management, light use efficiency was significantly and positively correlated with CO₂. Based on this relationship, dry matter (DM) production was predicted and the predicted DM was not significantly different from the observed DM when the average daytime CO₂ concentration ranged mainly between about 400 and 650 μmol·mol⁻¹. In STLT crop management, there was no significant difference in DM production between high Brix and regular tomatoes. Thus, in high Brix tomatoes, only a significant increase in fruit DM content induced a significant reduction in fruit fresh weight and increase in fruit Brix. In plants grown with salinity treatment, fruit Brix was significantly and highly correlated with the cumulative electrical conductivity (EC) of the drainage (cEC_d). Fruit Brix could be predicted and controlled based on cEC_d. Originating in Japan, high-Brix tomato production has reached Europe and other Asian countries, where demand is expected to increase. STLT crop management will support this increase. Models for yield and Brix could help growers.