Tomato yield as a function of water depths and irrigation suspension periods

ABSTRACT Irrigation management is essential for tomato fruits yield and quality. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the yield of tomatoes for industrial processing, ‘BRS Sena’ hybrid, subjected to water depths and irrigation suspension periods before harvest, irrigated by subsurface drip irrigation, in Goiás, Brazil (17º 49’ 19.5” S and 49º 12’ 11.3” W), in 2015 and 2016. The experiments were conducted under a randomized complete block design, with four replications, in split plots. Five irrigation levels (50, 75, 100, 125 and 150% of crop evapotranspiration) were evaluated in the plots and five irrigation suspension periods (0, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days before harvest) were evaluated in the subplots. At 125 days after transplanting the seedlings, the yields of green, mature, rotten fruits and total yield, water productivity and percentages of green, mature and rotten fruits were evaluated. The highest total fruit yields (105.86 and 58.60 t ha-1) were obtained with water replacements ranging from 125.47 (615.09 mm) to 132.11 (564.00 mm) of crop evapotranspiration, in the first and second year of experiment, respectively. Growing plants under water deficit and excess increased the incidence of rotten fruits and decreased that of mature fruits. Pre-harvest irrigation suspension reduced crop yield and incidence of green fruits and increased the incidence of rotten fruits. The highest water productivity by the crop occurred under water deficit, management that may be interesting for regions with water restrictions