Performance of fresh market tomato (Solanum lycopersicum Mill) lines as influenced by pruning

Abstract

Tomato production in the Philippines is dominated by conventional farmers who do not practice pruning. Currently, rampant occurrence of diseases almost wiped out the industry and availability of resistant seeds became a problem however several studies reported that pruning lessened diseases and enhanced yield. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of pruning on the performance of different fresh market tomato genotypes. The experiment was laid out in factorial design using Randomized Complete Block Design with pruning as Factor A and tomato genotypes as Factor B with Harabas (Harabas Rescuer 746) as control. Pruning obtained thicker stem and 18% higher fruit set, reduced Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus and increased tomato yield by producing a higher number of marketable fruits. AVTO 1173 produced the heaviest and largest fruits with the least TYLCV. Pruning is a beneficial practice that farmers could adopt, along with AVTO 1173 as a substitute for the Harabas, check variety. Additional trials of AVTO 1173 should be conducted in different locations to further verify its adaptability and performance in other situations.