A SUMMARY OF WORK ON SOLUTION HEATING AND INTERMITTENT SOLUTION CIRCULATION FOR TOMATORS IN NUTRIENT FILM CULTURE, C.J. Graves Glasshouse Crops Research Institute Littlehampton West Sussex BNI7 6LP United Kingdom Abstract Studies on solution heating and intermittent solution circulation in nutrient £ilm culture have established suitable regimes for producing high yields of good quality tomatoes. It is recommended that solution temperature should be maintained at 15-18°C before picking starts to ensure high fruit quality and raised to 25°C subsequently to increase root and shoot growth and fruit yield, The greatest benefit from intermittent solution circulation is a marked improvement in the quality of fruit picked early in the season. Fifteen minutes of circu- lation for every 0.6 MJ of total radiation received within the glass- house in winter gave the best results. Introduction ‘The nutrient film technique (NPT), reviewed by Graves (1983), is a commercially viable method of growing high-value, protected crops. In 1985, 88 (38 ha) of heated tomato crops were grown by this method in the United Kingdom. ‘The continuous presence of aerated water is probably the most important single factor contributing to the excellent growth obtained in NPT culture. However, restricting the supply of water can be advantageous in the cultivation of winter-sown early tomatoes because it reduces vegetative growth and so reduces the risk of ebortion of the early trusses of fruit and improves the quality of this fruit when market prices are highest (Graves and Hurd, 1983). Further improve- ments to quality and yield can be obtained by altering solution temper- ature at different stages in the development of the crop (Hurd and Graves, 1984; Hurd and Graves, 1985). One of the attractions of NFT culture is that heating the nutrient solution is both simple and cheap because it can be done at one point in the system, such as in the main reservoir tank. During 1981-1983 the effects were studied of various solution heating and intermittent circulation regimes on the growth and yield of commercial varieties of tomato, Results from solution heating trials in 1981 have already been published (Hurd and Graves, 1984), as have results from intermittent solution circulation trials in 1981 and 1982 (Graves and Kurd, 1983). 2. Materials and methods Tomatoes (cv. Sonatine, 1981; cv. Marathon, 1982, 1983) were sown in early November in GCRI peat/sand compost; seedlings were planted Acta Horticulturae 178, 1986 79 Growing Techniques and Plant Substratesout into 3 cm rockwool cubes and transferred into 7.5 cm cubes after 7-10 days. During the propagation stage (up to the middle of December) the nutrient solution, at 18°C, was circulated for five fifteen minute periods every 24h (four periods during daylight hours, one period during darkness). Subsequently, the plants were grown as a layered crop at "blueprint" temperatures with CO, enrichment, and at a density equivalent to 29 000 plants ha~*. Each regime consisted of 32 plants in two 7 m rows. ‘The pH of the nutrient solution was maintained at 5.7-6.3. The conductivity of the nutrient solution was adjusted (2 500-3 500 us) to maintain at least 250-350 ppm potassium in the solution. Leaf areas were determinéd from the linear dimensions of alternate leaves up the plant. The relation between leaf length, breadth and area (cm*) was found from leaf samples to be area = (length (cm) x breadth (cm) x 0.26) - 0.5 (r = 0.94). 2.2. Treatments After the propagation stage (flower buds visible in the head of the plant), the seedlings were transferred to their final spacings in NFT gullies and given various intermittent circulation and solution temper- ature treatments. 2.2.1, Intermittent circulation (1983) Plants had solution circulation for 15 min every time either 0.30, 0.45 or 0.60 ms m* total radiation had been accumulated inside the glasshouse. This continued until anthesis of the fifth truss when"the solution was continuously circulated until the end of the experiment. Initially, plants received one period of circulation for 15 min at night and this frequency was gradually increased, over 12 weeks, to 15 min every 1.5 h before continuous circulation was adopted. Control plants had continuous circulation by night and by day. All treatment were replicated. 2.2.2. Solution heating (1982) The solution was either unheated (Un) or maintained at 25°C (25) in the periods before and after the start of fruit picking (stage 4), giving four treatment combinations (Un/Un, Un/25, 25/Un, 25/25). During the first four weeks following ‘planting’ when the nutrient circulation was intermittent, the temperature around the roots of the heated solution plants was less than 25°C, but averaged S$ to 9°C higher than that of the unheated solution plants. Initially (mid~ November) the solution circulated for half an hour four times during daylight hours increasing slowly to continuous flow from anthesis of the fifth truss (mid-February). Periods of circulation were given at night as described in 2.2.1. 2.2.3. Solution heating (1983) The solution was either unheated (Un) or maintained at 18°C (18) from planting to the start of fruit picking, when the solvtion was either unheated (Un) or heated to 25°C (25) giving four treatment combinations (Un/Un, Un/25, 18/Un, 18/25). Intermittent solution circulation regimes were as described in 2.2.2. 803. Results a1. ent_flow (1983) The yields, fruit quality and crop values 4 and 20 weeks after beginning harvesting are given in Table 1. ‘The yield, quality and value of fruit picked from the continuous circulation regime (control) in the first four weeks was appreciably inferior to that from each of the intermittent circulation regimes. The low percentage of fruit recorded as Class 1 from the control plants appeared to be associated with greater vegetative growth. Leaf area measurements showed that control plants had, on average, 21% greater leaf area than ‘hard' (0.6 MJ m’) plants on 22 December 1983 increasing to 658 greater leaf area on 9 February 1984. There vas also more truss abortion and poor fruit set on control plants. The continuous flow regime gave the highest final (20 weeks) yield and value of all the treatments. However, there was a higher percentage of Class 2 fruit, particularly from the early harvests. ‘There were no statistical differences in the chemical composition of fruits from the three intermittent regimes and so the results for quality were averaged for comparison with those of the continuous circulation regime (Table 2). Intermittent solution circulation significantly increased the levels of total acids, titratable acids and potassium in fruit sampled after 2 and 12 weeks of picking. 3.2. Solution heating (1982) The yields and crop values 4 and 20 weeks after the first harvest are given in Table 3. Solution heating to 25°C up to the start of picking had no marked effect on the yield of fruit picked in the first 4 weeks, although guality and hence value, were slightly lowered. The reduction in quality was believed to be due to an increase in leaf area of 18% (13/1/83) and 26% (3/2/83). Subsequently, heating the solution to 25°C throughout picking increased yield and value by about 10% above those from the unheated treatments. 3.3. Solution heating (1983) The yields and crop values 4, 12 and 20 weeks after the first harvest are given in Table 4. As in 1982, heating the solution until the start of fruit picking had little effect on yield, but heating it after the onset of picking increased both the yield and value of fruit. Unlike 1982, the value of the fruit picked in the first 4 weeks was not reduced by heating the solution before picking but the temperature of the solution was lower (i.e. 18°C instead of 25°C}. 4. Discussion The results of earlier work on intermittent solution circulation (Graves and Hurd, 1983) and on solution heating (Hurd and Graves, 1985) together with those reported here demonstrate that fruit quality, and to a lesser extent fruit yield, can be improved by control of these two factors. 81It appears that between planting and the flowering of the fourth or fifth truss it is necessary to impose a ‘check' on the plants to prevent excess vegetative growth and subsequent poor fruit quality. ‘The reserve of water held in the rockwool block initially used to support the seedling presumably limits water stress. However, the solar controlled intermittent circulation regimes generally maintained a sufficient 'check' to vegetative growth. As light intensity, day- length and plant size increased, the time between irrigations automatically decreased. Continuous flow was introduced when plants were flowering on the fifth truss and fruit rapidly swelling on the first truss. The treatment giving the best results was 15 minutes of solution circulation for each 0.6 MJ m™* total radiation received within the glasshouse. This provided circulation for an average duration of only 5, 7 and 11% (including night circulations) of each 24 h period during December, January and early February respectively. For tomatoes, solution temperature and air temperature at night influence fruit production independently (Hurd and Graves, 1985). Solution temperatures of 20-30°C do not offset the delaying effects of low night air temperature. It is, however, important to maintain solutions at a minimum of 15°C to prevent reduced uptake of phosphorus and iron (Graves, 1983). As the solution temperature is raised above 20°C, root systems become more extensive, leaf area increases and the value of the fruit picked early in the season is reduced (Table 3). It is therefore recommended that the solution temperature be maintained at 15-16°C until fruit picking begins. The onset of fruit picking is usually associated with a period of root death, which may be due to depletion of carbohydrate reserves. Increasing the root temperature at this stage to about 25°C is believed to accelerate root regeneration and results in increases in yield of about 10% compared with unheated solutions. Acknowledgement I am grateful to Miss C. Cave and Mrs U. Ward for their diligent assistance. References Graves, C.J., 1983, The Nutrient Film Technique. Horticultural Reviews 5, 1-44. Graves, C.J., and Hurd, R.G., 1983. Intermittent solution circulation in the nutrient film technique. Acta Hort. 133, 47-52. Hurd, R.G., and Graves, C.J., 1984. Soil warming needs careful control. Grower, 102(3), pp- 15,17,19 Hurd, R.G., and Graves, C.J., 1985. Some effects of and root temperature on the yield and quality of glasshouse tomatoes. J.Hort.Sci. (in press). 82Table 1 - The effects of intermittent solution circulation determined by radiation receipt during early growth on yield, quality and value of November-sown tomatoes in 1983. Yield (kg m7?) 8 Class 1 fruit Crop value (¢ m™*) Regime - - = a 4wks 20 wks 4 wks 20 wks 4 wks 20 wks 0.30 Ma m7? 2.7 26.6 70 84 2.6 2i.1 0.45 Mo m7? 2.7 27.6 74 84 27 21.8 0.60 MI m? 2.7 29.1 70 8s 2.6 22.9 Control 2.2 30.0 51 80 1.9 23.5 (continuous) Table 2 - The effects of intermittent (I) and continuous (Cc) solution circulation on the chemical composition of tomatoes. Weeks after first pick Dry matter (4) 4.58 4.7% ns. 5.48 5.52 nis. Sugars 2.09 2.11 ns. 2.90 2.87 ns. (g 100 mi-? juice) Total acids 13.2 14.6 oo 13.6 14.3 tH (meq 100 mi~? juice) Titratable acids 730 81 Te 2 (meq 100 ml~? juice) Potassium GO Go oF Be ot (meq 100 mi~? juice) Conductivity (ms) 5.7 6.0 * 5.4 5.6 ns. *, **, "#4 significant at P = 0.05, 0.01 and 0.001 respectively. 83Table 3 - The effect of solution heating on the yield and value of tomatoes 4 and 20 weeks after beginning picking (1982). Yield (kg m7 value (£ m7?) 4 wks 20 wks 4 wks 20 wks Un/Un 2.45 27.8 2.43 20.1 25/un 2.40 28.8 2.22 20.6 un/25 2.47 31.0 2.40 22.0 25/25 2.43 31.6 2.25 22.4 Table 4 - ‘The effect of solution heating on the yield and value of tomatoes 4, 12 and 20 weeks after beginning picking (1983). 2 ) 2 i Yield (kg m™ Value (€ m7 Regime - 4wks 12 wks 20 wks 4wks 12 wks 20 wks un/un 2.59 13.2 27.3 2:50 12.7 21.7 18/Un 13.8 28.7 2.70 13.5 22.9 on/25 14.1 30.0 2.83 13.6 23.9 18/25 2.89 14.3 29.8 2.77 13.8 23.9 84