Response of Cherry Tomato To Irrigation Levels and Fruit Pruning Under Greenhouse Conditions

A greenhouse study was conducted to evaluate the response of cherry tomato cultivar dulcito rz to different irrigation levels and fruit pruning treatments. treatments were three irrigation levels [50, 75, and 100%, based on the crop evapotranspiration (etc)], and three fruit pruning treatments (6, 8, and 10 fruits truss^-1). results showed that the highest irrigation level (100% etc) increased fruit weight and size, and total and marketable yield. however, water stress treatment (50% etc) increased fruit quality traits (total soluble solids, titratable acidity, vitamin c, and total sugars). plants pruned to 6 fruits truss^-1 yielded a heavier and larger fruit size, while unpruned plants had smaller fruit size with a significant increase in total and marketable yield due to increased number of fruits plant^-1. the increased incidence of fruit cracking with lower fruit load (6 fruits truss^-1) or with higher irrigation level (100% etc) were related with the larger fruit size. the 50% etc and full fruits truss^-1 (zero fruit pruning) treatments caused the highest values of irrigation water use efficiency (25.6-25.8 and 29.9-30.4 kg m^-3, respectively). to maximize marketable yield of cherry tomato and conserving irrigation water, it is recommended to apply 10 fruits truss^-1 pruning treatment along with the medium irrigation water level (75% etc) under greenhouse conditions.