PRODUCTION OF INDUSTRIAL TOMATO UNDER DIFFERENT SOIL-MOISTURE REGIMES

Field experiments were carried out under the soil and climate conditions of Central Brazil, in the "cerrado" region, aiming to study the response of industrial tomatoes to different soil water tensions. Twenty-seven treatments resulted from the combination of three soil water tensions (30, 100, and 460 kPa) with three plant growth stages (vegetative, reproductive, and maturation). Commercial fruit productivity was not significantly affected by tensions between 30 and 460 kPa during the vegetative and maturation stages. In the reproductive stage it was reduced as soil water tension increased, but with no significant differences between 30 and 100 kPa. Fruit soluble solutes and acidity were not affected by the treatments.