TOMATO YIELD AND SOIL-BORNE DISEASES IN A “BANDEIRANTE” GREENHOUSEUSING GRAFTING AND SOILLESS CULTURE TECHNIQUES

Abstract

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of grafting with a disease-resistant rootstock and soilless cultivation on tomato yield and soil-borne diseases in a "Bandeirante"-type greenhouse. The experiment was conducted over three growing seasons (2019/20, 2020/21, and 2021/22) and compared three treatments: cultivation of the hybrid Coronel® tomato ungrafted and planted directly in the soil (control), cultivation of the hybrid Coronel® grafted onto the Shincheonggang® rootstock and planted directly in the soil, and cultivation of the hybrid Coronel® ungrafted and planted in pots filled with a mixed substrate. The variables evaluated included marketable and non-marketable fruit yield, incidence of bacterial wilt and darkening of the vascular system of the plants, and economic return of grafting and soilless cultivation techniques. The highest marketable yield (146.7 t∙ha^-¹) was consistently obtained with ungrafted plants grown in pots and significantly exceeded by 63% (89.9 t∙ha^-¹) and 48% (98.9 t∙ha^-¹), respectively, the yield of ungrafted and grafted plants grown in soil. No incidence of bacterial wilt was observed, and darkening of the vascular system at the base of the stem was lower in ungrafted plants cultivated in pots. Only the soilless cultivation with mixed substrate provided a positive economic return (R$35,482.44) compared with the control. The results highlight the benefits of soilless cultivation with mixed substrate, including higher productivity and economic returns.