The effect of foliar nutrition on yield of greenhouse tomatoes and qualityof the crop

Tomatoes grown in traditional mediums such as pear moss are usually supplie d with essential nutrients by preplant fertilization and in the Inter growt h stages by top dressing application to the root zone. According to the dat a from literature the efficient method of nutrient supply during the intens ive stage of growth may be estimated as by foliar spraying. In the greenhouse experiment conducted in 1998-1999 a preplant fertilizatio n by multicomponential fertilizer MIS-4 was applied to peat moss growing me dium in full (4 kg per m(3)) and half (2 kg per m(3)) of recommended rate. Supplemental fertilization during the growing period was provided to the ro ot zone or by using liquid multicomponential fertilizers Ekolist S and Mikr osol U in 5 sprays conducted at two week intervals. Results of the study proved that advantageous effect of foliar tomato nutri on grown in eat substrate was observed only in treatments with restricted s upply of fertilizers to the growing medium. The maximum fruit yield was rec eived from plots provided by the reduced preplant MIS-4 dose to 50 % of rec ommended rate combined with foliar sprays by Ekolist S. Such system of fert ilization enhanced the marketable yield of fruit by 9.8 % and early yield b y 11.3 % as compared to that obtained with preplant and top dressing soil a pplication. Foliar nutrion did not change dry matter and vitamin C content and increase d total and reducing sugars accumulation in tomato fruits.