Management of crop residues to improve quality traits of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) fruits

Management of cover crops provides mulching and/or topsoil incorporation of plant residues, which can enhance soil organic matter content as well as supply important nutrients. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects on tomato quality and yield performance of different managements of plant residues from three cover crops compared with plastic cover (polyvinyl chloride) and bared soil (control). Management treatments consisted of: mulch with faba bean (MuF), rapeseed and barley and incorporated plants of faba bean (InF), rapeseed and barley. PVC and mulching with crop residues obtained higher yields; faba bean, due to its chemical composition, gave the highest fruit growth and yield, regardless of residues management. Residues improved tomato crop physiology as well as minerals concentration in fruits: the highest calcium values were observed for InF, while magnesium was significantly concentrated in fruits of MuF and InF treatments. Faba bean as previous crop seemed more effective in enhancing yield and quality tomato traits. Rapeseed did not confirm the expected results.