Two field experiments were conducted at the Experimental Farm Station of Hort. Faculty
of Agriculture, Benha University, during late summer seasons of 2006 and 2007 on tomato
(Lycopersicon esculentum, Mill.) Cv. Super strain B.
Seven weeks old tomato seedling (i.e., at the beginning of May for 2006 and 2007
seasons, respectively) were transplanted to the experimental plots. The plants were sprayed 5
times, 20 days after transplanting and again every 15 days intervals.
Treatments were as follow, Yeast extract at 15 and 30 ml/L, Amino acids at 1.5 and
3ml/L., Citric acid at 2.5 and 5 g/L. and Control (water treated). The obtained results clearly
showed that yeast extract at 30 ml/L gave the highest values for each of number of flowers, total
fruits per plant and percentages of fruit setting. Most applied treatments were effective and highly
increased the fertility of pollen grains, total yields, total fruits per plant, weight of total fruits per
plant, fresh and dry fruit weight, length, diameter and shape index per plant in treated plants
compared with control.
The quality characteristics of tomato fruits i.e., vitamin C, titratable acidity and total
soluble solids as well as minerals content were increased with different treatments. The most
effective treatments of tomato plant were yeast extract at 30 ml / L and amino acids at 3 ml / L
Vigorous growth of tomato plant treated with different applied treatments was positively
correlated with different anatomical responses of stems and leaves. Since, different applied
treatments increased stem anatomical features e.g. stem thickness, increment of stem thickness
was accompanied with increases in most of its anatomical features, i.e., thickness of epidermis,
thickness of cortex and thickness of parenchymatous pith.
Moreover, increased thickness of midvein, lamina, upper epidermis, lower epidermis,
thickness of spongy tissue and palisade tissue as well in tomato leaf. Furthermore, increasing
dimenti"ons (length and width) of vascular bundles, thickness of both phloem and xylem tissues
and number of xylem vessels.
Different applied treatments were highly increased photosynthetic pigments content,
minerals concentrations (N, P, K, Mg mg/g d.w and Fe ppm) also crude protein, total sugars, total
carbohydrates, total phenols and total amino acids in tomato leaves, minerals concentrations (N,
P, K, Ca mg/g d.w and Fe ppm) in fruit as well as levels of endogenous auxins, gibberellins and
cytokinins (in shoot) meanwhile, abscisic acid was decreased as compared with the untreated
plants. at 70 days after transplanting during the assigned season.
The application of various treatments induced reduction in enzymatic antioxidants activity
(i.e., peroxidase, catalase and superoxide dismutase) as compared with control plant those of
activity could be attributed to antioxidantal direct effects of used treatments on scavenging toxic
radicals. |
