Nutritional status of cherry tomato with omission of macronutrients

Abstract

Aspects related to tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) mineral nutrition are important for the production of quality fruits. The cherry tomato (Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme) is an alternative for most producers due to its high market value, greater productivity and good acceptance by consumers. The objective with this study was to evaluate the nutritional status of cherry tomatoes cultivated in nutrient solution under omission of macronutrients. The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design, with seven treatments: complete nutrient solution and omissions of N, P, K, Ca, Mg and S, with five replicates. Visible symptoms of nutritional deficiency were observed in the following order of omission: at 5, 12 and 20 days after transplantation in plants under omission of N, P and K, respectively. Conversely, there were no visible symptoms of deficiency under omissions of Ca, Mg and S. The sequence of growth limitation, determined based on the shoot dry mass of cherry tomato plants, was: N>P>S>Mg>Ca>K. The omission of a nutrient, besides reducing its content in the leaf tissue, causes imbalance between the other nutrients, influencing the parameters of growth and production, leading to morphological manifestations in cherry tomato.