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Critical Soil Temperature for Tomato Plant Growth
Author(s) -
Martin George C.,
Wilcox Gerald E.
Publication year - 1963
Publication title -
soil science society of america journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.836
H-Index - 168
eISSN - 1435-0661
pISSN - 0361-5995
DOI - 10.2136/sssaj1963.03615995002700050028x
Subject(s) - shoot , plant growth , fertilizer , nutrient , dry weight , horticulture , agronomy , biology , chemistry , ecology
Fireball and Kokomo variety of tomatoes were used to study the effect of root temperatures at 56°, 58°, 60° and 70°F., and of P concentration on plant growth and chemical composition. It was found that the early and late tomato varieties responded similarly to the respective root temperatures. The response to P fertilizer was between 5 and 50 ppm., with no further growth increase at 100 ppm. There was a growth increase as expressed by dry weight between 56° and 58° and 58° and 70°F., but not between 58° and 60°F. Although in all cases increasing the temperature from 56° to 58°F. increased nutrient uptake, the difference was not great enough to have any practical importance. The growth of tomato shoots was doubled by increasing the root temperature from 56° to 58°F.