A research on the determination of productivity levels of tomato grown areas

The research was conducted in tomato-growing lands of Lâpseki, Ezine, Bayramic and Central districts of Canakkale province, Turkey. The aim of the study is to check the suitability of the field for tomato farming and to produce a solution if there is a problem. Disturbed soil samples were taken from 114 points with certain coordinates, at a depth of 0 to 30 cm, and analyses were performed. In the soil samples, texture, soil reaction (pH; 1:2.5), calcium carbonate (CaCO3%), phosphorus (P; kg.ha-1), cation exchange capacity (CEC; meq.100 g-1), iron (Fe; ppm), manganese (Mn; ppm), zinc (Zn; ppm), copper (Cu; ppm) and clay (%) analyses were conducted, and characteristic maps of the region were prepared according to the results of the analyses. Based on these results, the present condition and suitability of the soils were evaluated, and simple statistics along with correlations of the analyzed parameters were examined. For the problems of the area, in low pH areas, it was deemed necessary to apply calcium carbonate (CaCO3) or calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] together with physiological alkaline fertilizers. As per the high pH areas, it was necessary to apply elemental sulfur together with physiological acid fertilizers. It was also concluded that Zn application was necessary for the 43.85% of the area with Zn deficiency. Key words: Efficiency level, nutritional status, plant nutrition, tomato.