Root-zone Temperature Control of Tomato Plant Cultivated in Perlite Bag during Summer Season

This research was conducted to establish efficient methods to control root-zone temperature of tomato plant when cultivated in perlite bag during the summer season. Tomato plants were grown with four selected treatments; covering irrigation pipe by aluminum insulation material (insulate), discarding nutrient solution inside the irrigation line before each irrigation (Discard), skipping irrigation for two hours from 13:00 to 15:00 (Skip), or no treatment as a control (Non). Based on the analysis of plant development index, all plants with selected treatments grew more vigorous and vegetative in similar growth patterns. The discard treatment exhibited the best root-zone temperature control among the treatments. The discard treatment also resulted in the best root growth and above-ground growth, followed by skip, Insulate and Non. The total yields were obtained by the order of Insulate, Discard, Non and Skip. However the marketable yield was obtained by the order of Discard, Insulate, Skip and Non. The net incomes treated with Discard and Insulate were 9,687,600 and 9,396,000 Korean won per hectare, respectively, exhibiting higher incomes than that of Non. Therefore, it was concluded that insulation of the irrigation pipe and discarding nutrient solution inside the pipe before each irrigation were the most desirable and economical methods in terms of costs and yields.