Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-nmvwc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-02T10:22:35.519Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The effects of fluid sowing pre-germinated seeds and transplanting on emergence, growth and yield of outdoor bush tomatoes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

D. Gray ,
Joyce R. A. Steckel  and
J. A. Ward
D. Gray
Affiliation:
National Vegetable Research Station, Wellesbourne, Warwick, CV35 9EF
Joyce R. A. Steckel
Affiliation:
National Vegetable Research Station, Wellesbourne, Warwick, CV35 9EF
J. A. Ward
Affiliation:
National Vegetable Research Station, Wellesbourne, Warwick, CV35 9EF
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Experiments on outdoor bush tomatoes cv. Sleaford Abundance were conducted during 3 years to compare seedling establishment from fluid-sown pre-germinated seeds with that from conventionally sown dry seeds and to compare the effects on ripening and yields of these establishment methods with transplanting. Fluid-sown pre-germinated seeds emerged about 15 days earlier than conventionally sown dry seeds from sowings made in late April (mean soil temperature at seed depth from sowing to emergence ranged from 9 to 11.5 °C) and about 6 days earlier from sowings made in mid-May (mean soil temperature ranged from 12 to 15 °C). The percentage seedling emergence from pregerminated fluid-sown seeds was, on average, 57% from the earlier sowings and 65% from the later sowings, 34 and 24% higher, respectively, than from dry seeds sown conventionally. Plants from fluid-sown pre-germinated seeds were about 50% heavier than those from dry seeds at all stages of growth up to flowering. Crops established by fluidsowing started to ripen 7 days earlier than those established from dry seeds, when averaged over sowing dates and years. Yields of ripe marketable fruit > 35 mm in. size from crops established from pre-germinated seeds were 35·2 t/ha, averaged over sowing and planting dates, 37% higher than from dry seeds though 51% lower than from transplants. In the two years with good growing seasons crops fluid sown in late April gave as good yields as those transplanted in late May and early June, after the last frosts, though in the cool wet year yields from fluid-sown crops were considerably lower than those from transplanted crops. Yields of ripe, marketable fruit from ‘bare-root’ plants raised from pre-germinated seeds in unheated Dutch-light structures were, on average, 48·5 t/ha, 25% higher than from plants raised in soil blocks in a heated glasshouse.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 93 , Issue 1 , August 1979 , pp. 223 - 233
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1979

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anon. (1948). Growing tomatoes out of doors. The fruit and thesoil, pp. 37–49 (ed. Darlington, C. D.). Collected edition of the John Innes leaflets, Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd.Google Scholar
Anon. (1966). International rules for seed testing. Proceedings of the International Seed Testing Association 31, 49–91.Google Scholar
Anon. (1973). Research studies on field production of tomato transplants in Southern Georgia. United States Department of Agriculture. Production Research Report, No. 148.Google Scholar
Austin, R. B. (1964). Plastic mulches for outdoor tomato crops and a trial of varieties. Experimental Horticulture 11, 17–22.Google Scholar
Blacklow, W. M. (1973). A mathematical model to predict germination and field emergence of maize (Zea mays L.) in an environment of changing temperatures. In Seed Ecology (ed. Heydecker, W.), pp. 533–540. 19th Easter School in Agricultural Science, University of Nottingham. London: Butterworth.Google Scholar
Bussell, W. T. & Gray, D. (1976). Effects of pre-sowing seed treatments and temperatures on tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum, Mill.) seed germination and seedling emergence. Scientia Horticulturae 5, 101–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calvert, A. (1957). Effect of the early environment on development of flowering in the tomato. I. Temperature. Journal of Horticultural Science 32, 9–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Currah, I. E., Gray, D. & Thomas, T. H. (1974). The sowing of germinating vegetable seeds using a fluid drill. Annals of Applied Biology 76, 311–318.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Currah, I. E., Darby, R. J., Dearman, A. S., Gray, D., Rankin, W. E. F. & Salter, P. J. (1977). Establishment of crops by fluid drilling: Development of techniques. Annual Report of the National Vegetable Research Station for 1976, pp. 66–67.Google Scholar
Daubeny, H. A. (1961). Earliness in tomato varieties with special reference to the ability to set fruit at low temperature. Proceedings of the American Society for Horticultural Science 78, 445–449.Google Scholar
Ells, J. E. (1963). The influence of treating tomato seeds with nutrient solutions on emergence rate and seedling growth. Proceedings of the American Society for Horticultural Science 83, 684–687.Google Scholar
Fery, R. L. & Janick, J. (1970). Response of the tomato to population pressure. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science 95, 614–624.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gray, D., Price, H. C., Bartlett, D. & Tocnioni, F. (1978). Chilling injury in pre-germinated tomato seeds. Annual Report of the National Vegetable Research Station for 1977, p. 63.Google Scholar
Kemp, G. A. (1965). Inheritance of fruit set at low temperatures. Proceedings of the American Society for Horticultural Science 86, 565–568.Google Scholar
Kemp, G. A. (1967). Low-temperature growth responses of the tomato. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 48, 281–286.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis, D. (1953). Some factors affecting flower production in the tomato. Journal of Horticultural Science 28, 207–220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lickorish, G. R. & Darby, R. J. (1976). A handoperated fluid drill for small plot experiments. Experimental Agriculture 12, 299–303.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Llngle, J. C, Underhill, J. P., Zobel, M. P. & Lyons, T. (1958). Tomato fertilizer trials. California Agriculture 12, 11–12.Google Scholar
Lyons, J. M. (1973). Chilling injury in plants. Annual Review of Plant Physiology 24, 445–466.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nicklow, C. W. & Minges, P. A. (1962). Plant growth factors influencing the field performance of Fireball tomato. Proceedings of the American Society for Horticultural Science 81, 443–450.Google Scholar
Orchard, T. J. (1977). Estimating the parameters of plant seedling emergence. Seed Science and Technology 5, 61–69.Google Scholar
Øyjord, E. (1963). A universal experimental seed drill. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research 8, 85–87.Google Scholar
Phatak, S. C. (1975). Field Seeding of Tomatoes. Ministry of Agriculture & Food, Ontario, Factsheet No. 75–042.Google Scholar
Risse, L. A. & Moffitt, T. (1971). Comparative costs, rates of field survival and yields of bare-rooted and standard-packed tomato transplants. United States Department of Agriculture, ARS, pp. 52–62.Google Scholar
Sims, W. L., Zobel, M. P. & King, R. C. (1968). Mechanised growing and harvesting of processing tomatoes. University of California, Agricultural Extension Service AXT–232.Google Scholar
Thompson, P. A. (1974). Characterisation of the germination responses to temperature of vegetable seeds. I. Tomatoes. Scientia Horticulturae 2, 35–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tiessen, H. (1962). The influence of various temperatures and (2-chloroethyl) trimethylammonium chloride and (allyl) trymethylammonium bromide on peppers and tomatoes. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 42, 142–149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ure, G. B. & Loughton, A. (1978). Plug-mix planting of pre-germinated seed in Ontario. Acta Horticulturae 72, 125–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Went, F. W. (1944). Plant growth under controlled conditions. II. Thermoperiodicity in growth and fruiting of the tomato. American Journal of Botany 31, 135–150.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitfield, W. A. D. (1974). The soils of the National Vegetable Research Station, Wellesbourne. Report of the National Vegetable Research Station for 1973, pp. 21–30.Google Scholar
Wittwer, S. H. & Teunber, F. G. (1956). Cold exposure of tomato seedlings and flower formation. Proceedings of the American Society for Horticultural Science 67, 369–376.Google Scholar