EFFECT OF THE AGE AND PLANTING AREA OF TOMATO (SOLANUM LICOPERSICUM L.) SEE DLINGS FOR LATE FIELD PRODUCTION ON THE PHYSIOLOGICAL BEHAVIOR OF PLANTS

N. Shopova, D. Cholakov

Abstract: In a field experiments were tested variants of seedlings with different age - 20-25-, 30-35- and 40-45-day old, grown in 40-, 66- and 104-cell containers providing a planting area for one seedling of 44, 28 and 17 cm2 respectively. It was established that the use of biologically younger seedlings was a precondition for a greater physiological potential of the transplants during the vegetative stage. The parameters of the leaf gas exchange, biological yield and the economic photosynthetic productivity reached their highest values for the 20-25-day old seedlings grown in 66-cell containers with 28 cm2 planting area per transplant.

Keywords: biological yield; leaf gas exchange; net photosynthetic productivity; plastid pigments; seedlings; tomatoes

Date published: 2017-10-26