Interactive effects of salinity and silicon application on Solanum lycopersicum growth, physiology and shelf‐life of fruit produced hydroponically. (13th November 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Costan, Andrei; Stamatakis, Aristeidis; Chrysargyris, Antonios; Petropoulos, Spyridon A; Tzortzakis, Nikos
• Is Part Of: Journal of the science of food and agriculture. Volume 100:Number 2(2020)
• Page Start: 732
• Page End: 743
• Publication Date: 2019-11-13
• Subjects: minerals -- fruit quality -- salinity stress -- soilless culture -- storage -- tomato; Food -- Periodicals; Agriculture -- Periodicals; 664
• DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.10076
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-5142

Abstract

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Using water with high salinity for plant fertigation may have detrimental effects on plant development and total yield and on the quality of the crop produced. As a possible means to alleviate the negative effects of salinity, silicon (Si) can be incorporated in the nutrient solution supplied to plants. In the present study, hydroponically grown tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum Mill.) plants were subjected to two different salinity levels (0 and 50 mmol L −1 NaCl) with and without the application of Si (0 and 2 mmol L −1 K2 SiO3 ) in order to evaluate its possible positive impact on mitigation of salinity stress‐induced symptoms. An additional experiment was implemented with postharvest Si application (sodium silicate) to investigate effects on the shelf‐life of tomato fruit. RESULTS: Salinity (50 mmol L −1 NaCl) decreased plant size, total yield and fresh fruit weight while a high percentage of blossom end rot symptoms of tomato fruit was also observed. The application of Si in the nutrient solution counteracted these detrimental effects, generating a higher yield and healthier fruit (lower blossom end rot incidence) compared to the untreated plants (no application of Si). Salinity improved several quality‐related traits in tomato fruit, resulting in higher marketability, whereas the addition of Si (pre‐ and postharvest) maintained fruit firmness following storage thereby increasing the shelf‐life of tomato fruit. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that Si application (pre‐ and postharvest) could provide an effective means of alleviating the unfavorable effects of using low‐quality water in plant fertigation on tomato plant development, fruit yield and post‐harvest quality, through increased fruit firmness. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry