Vegetative growth and yield of semideterminate tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) in dependence on the method of mulching soil

Abstract

The aim of the research was to find out how different ways of covering soil affect the vegetative growth and yield of semideterminate tomato in the Mediterranean area of Croatia. The field experiment which was set up as a randomized block design in three replications in the two successive vegetation seasons was carried out on family farm in the town Pula (44°52'N, 13°54'E, 10 m altitude). The experiment looked at the growth of tomatoes in bare soil, soil covered with black polyethylene (PE) film, and two cover crop mulches (hairy vetch - Vicia villosa and crimson clover - Trifolium incarnatum). The soil covered with black PE film compared to bare soil, shortened the number of days necessary for the formation of tomato suckers and the begininng of blooming of tomato plants. On the contrary, the soil covered with cover crop mulches prolonged the number of days necessary for formation of suckers and the begininng of blooming of plants. In the first 15 or 30 days of the growing period the tomato plants grew faster on the soil covered with black PE film than on the soil covered with cover crop mulches. There was higher yield of early fruits on soil covered with black PE film than on cover crop mulches. The method of covering, however, had no influence on the weight of the fruits.