Abstract

BRAUN, Heder et al. TOMATO SEEDLING PRODUCTION BY CUTTINGS ROOTED IN DIFFERENT SUBSTRATES. Idesia [online]. 2010, vol.28, n.1, pp. 9-15. ISSN 0718-3429.  doi: 10.4067/S0718-34292010000100002.

The use of cuttings to implement tomato crops has fundamental importance for farmers, mainly due to high cost of seeds. This study aimed at evaluating the viability of the tomato seedling production by cuttings rooted in different substrates. The experi­ment was carried out in greenhouse at the Centro de Ciencias Agrarias- UFES, Alegre- ES. The experiment was arranged in a complete randomized design using a 3 x 3 factorial scheme (substrate and cutting height) with three replicates. The following seedling characteristics were evaluated: rooting percentage, increase in height of aerial part, total length of root system, mean diameter of root system, dry matter of aerial part, and dry matter of root system. The total length of root system was not affected by the height of cuttings obtained from seedlings, whereas the commercial substrate for the establishment of seedlings provided plants with longer root system. The vegetative propagation of tomato plants via lateral shoots showed to be an alternative for the commercial cropping, becoming viable particularly for small farmers, mainly due the high cost of seeds.

Keywords : Clones; Lycopersicon esculentum; vegetative propagation.