Effect of different irrigation sheets on the phenological stages of the tomato crop (Solanum lycopersicum L.), in the municipality of Totogalpa, dry corridor of Nicaragua

Abstract

Global warming has caused the search for genetic alternatives to make crops resistant to dry conditions and extreme temperatures, and methods are also being sought to meet the water demand of crops in dry seasons or in winters with reduced rainfall. The present investigation was based on evaluating the effect of the application of different irrigation sheets on the phenological stages of the tomato crop (Solanum lycopersicum L.) in the municipality of Totogalpa, dry corridor of Nicaragua. The water sheets supplied 60% (T1), 80% (T2) and 100% (T3) of the water losses by evapotranspiration in tomato plants. A complete randomized design with three replications was used. The experiment was conducted outdoors in Totogalpa, Nicaragua. The vegetative and reproductive stages of the tomato plant were determined using a thermal time model (TDM). Significance tests at 0.05% were performed to determine if there were differences between treatments. Results obtained indicate that the vegetative stage requires 502 GDD at 34 days after transplanting (DDT), with differences (p < 0.05) in the variables main stem diameter and number of leaves; the reproductive stage requires 1200 GDD and 77 DDT to generate fruit ripening and harvest; and in the reproductive stage, differences (p < 0.05) were found among treatments in terms of number of flowers/plant, number of fruits/plant, polar and equatorial fruit diameter and fruit weight. Among the treatments, the best results were obtained by supplying 100% of the losses due to evapotranspiration in tomato plants, due to the fact that they presented the best averages in the vegetative and reproductive stages.