Kowalczyk K., Zielony T., Radzanowska J.

The yielding of tomato plants in rockwool cultivation using different Fe fertilizers was investigated. The plants of cv. Azarro F1 were planted in rockwool slabs on 20th February 2006 and cultivation was finished on 27th November of the same year. Three nutrition solutions with the same components of macro- and microelements, only in varying the Fe fertilizer were used: (EDTA) 13 Top including 13% of Fe, (DTPA) 9 Premium including 9% Fe and (EDDHMA) HYdrOPLUS MICRO including 6% Fe. Three times, during the experiment, fruit quality and plant nutritional status were assessed. The fruit dry matter, same of chemical parameters such as L-ascorbicacid, SSC, mineral salts, color of fruit, firmness and sensory overall quality were investigated. The yielding and quality of tomato fruit and plant nutritional status did not depend on the Fe fertilizers used in the nutrient solutions. The investigated plants were in fine Fe nutritional status but the waste of Fe fertilizers was significantly different. The quality of tomato fruit was related to the term of harvest. The highest quality were observed in fruit harvested in July. The lowest dry matter content was noted in fruit harvested in October, which were also the brightest and had the highest level of Lascorbic acid and their sensory overall quality was close to the quality of the best fruit.

Key words: tomato, chelate Fe, fertilization, macronutrients, micronutrients, fruit quality