M. Sandoval-villa et al., Tomato leaf chlorophyll meter readings as affected by variety, nitrogen form, and nighttime nutrient solution strength, J PLANT NUT, 23(5), 2000, pp. 649-661
Leaf chlorophyll content is closely related to leaf nitrogen (N) content, s
o it is reasonable to assume that ammonium-N (NH4-N):nitrate-N (NO3-N) rati
o in the nutrient solution used to grow tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum M
ill.) hydroponically may affect leaf greenness, and consequently chlorophyl
l meter (SPAD) readings. It has also been shown that increasing nutrient so
lution strength (NSS) increases tomato productivity, but there are no repor
ts regarding how NSS affects SPAD readings under greenhouse conditions. Gen
otype may also influence SPAD readings, and standardization for cultivar an
d sampling time may be needed. The objective of this study was to character
ize SPAD readings for five tomato cultivars and SPAD reading response to a
combination of two NSS (1X and 4X Steiner solution strength daily applied 1
8 days after transplanting at 7 p.m.) and two concentrations of NH4-N in so
lution (0 and 25%) in order to evaluate the potential of SPAD readings as a
tomato yield predictor in greenhouse production systems. The SPAD readings
were not uniform across tomato varieties tested, being consistently higher
for 'Max' and lower for the other varieties. Initially, SPAD readings for
tomato varieties used in this study were low at the vegetative stage, and i
ncreased up to 40 DAT, but subsequently decreased at 49 DAT, or the fruit s
et of the first and second clusters. After this time, SPAD readings showed
no variation. Chlorophyll meter readings for 'Max' were higher in the top p
lant layers, but decreased in the top plant layer of the other tomato varie
ties. The SPAD readings were higher for plants supplied with 25% NH4-N than
those without NH4-N in solution, but the use of a nighttime nutrient solut
ion did not affect SPAD readings. None of the possible interactions among t
omato variety, NH4-N:NO3-N ratio, and NSS were consistently significant.