Effects Of Substrate Cultivation On Tomato Growth And Utilization Of Water And Fertilizer

Substrate cultivation is the main method of soilless cultivation.Different substrate cultivation methods have different root environment characteristics and different water and fertilizer operation rules,which cause differences in tomato growth.At the same time,equipment costs and operating costs are also different,which will reflect differences in economic benefits.In this paper,a mixed matrix of nursery substrate and sheep dung was used.Under the same water-fertilizer and field management methods,different soilless cultivation methods were established in this paper,such as ditch type(G),trough type(C),strip type(T)and seedling bowl type(M).The effects on tomato growth,yield,quality,water-fertilizer utilization rate and economic benefit were analyzed,and tried to find out the economical and efficient soilless cultivation method that is suitable for solar greenhouse production with light simplification of labor force,saving of water and fertilizer,and large-scale production.The basic results of the test are as follows:Cultivation methods affected the root growth environment of the plant.The temperature of trench and strip matrix were more suitable,the highest temperature in summer were 27.27 ℃ and 29.52 ℃respectively,while trough and seedling bowl reached 32.47 ℃ and 32.83 ℃;the lowest temperature of trench in autumn was 14.64 ℃,about 3℃-4 ℃ higher than other treatments;during the whole fertility period,the diurnal temperature range of trench and strip matrix were about 6℃ and 9℃ respectively,the trough type and seedling bowl type were respectively 12℃ and 14℃.The trough type was not easy to drain,the average relative humidity was up to 95%,other treatments were between 84% and 88%.The matrix EC value of ditch,strip,and seedling bowl treatment during the whole fertility period were 1.5-3.0 ms/cm,but the trough type was the highest,which was close to 4 ms/cm,and easy to cause salt accumulation.Cultivation methods affected tomato growth and quality.After 156 days of transplantation,the ditch type plant height was 326 cm,the number of leaves was 48,and the leaf area reached 9951cm~2,which was51% higher than the strip type.After 164 days of transplantation,the total dry weight per plant of the ditch type was highest,413.31g/plant,which was 16.67%,22.61% and 32.38% higher than the strip type,seedling bowl type and trough type respectively.Ditch type plant growth well,7541.55 kg per mu,higher than strip type,seedling bowl type and trough type by 7.07%,17.78% and 54.74% respectively.In terms of fruit quality,strip type had highest quality,followed by seedling bowl type,trough type and ditch type.Cultivation methods affected plant water and fertilizer utilization,and directly affected production costs and economic benefits.Ditch type’s water use ratio was 25.36 kg/m~3,54.73% higher than trough type.Ditch type had the highest utilization rate of nitrogen,phosphorus and potassium,which were 18.49%,16.78% and 18.68% respectively,the utilization of nitrogen significantly higher than that of trough type,stripe type and seedling bowl type.In terms of input costs,ditch type had the lowest total cost per 667m~2,4632 yuan,and total income was the highest,28400 yuan,so its economic benefit was 23800 yuan,while the economic benefit of strip type,seedling bowl type and trough type were lower,which were 21700,19200 and 13400 yuan respectively.In general,the ditch root system environment was stable and the yield was the highest,while the strip yield was close to the ditch type in yield,with the best quality and relatively easy to build.Therefore,both cultivation methods were suitable for the production of solar greenhouse in China,which were worthy of promotion and application.