Tomato is one of the most important vegetable cropsgrown throughout the India. It is one of the leadingRabi season grown vegetable in Andhra Pradesh.

Transplanting time has tremendous effect on the tomato fruitquality and seed yield because of widely varying agro climaticconditions and intricate crop-weather relationships. Optimumtime of planting is one of the non-monetary inputs forincreasing the productivity of the crop. With a view todetermine the effect of transplanting dates on fruit qualityand seed yield for the two varieties of tomato, experimentswere carried out to find the suitable time of planting forsouthern agro-climatic zone of Andhra Pradesh.

RESEARCH METHODSThe experiment comprised of two main parameters viz.,

transplanting dates and varieties. It was carried out at S.V.Agricultural College, ANGRAU, Tirupati in a well drained redsandy soil. Two varieties of tomato (Pusa Ruby and PusaEarly Dwarf) were planted on six different dates of transplantingviz., D

1- September 5th, D

2- September 15th, D

3- October 5th,

D4- October 15th, D

5- November 5th and D

6- November 15th .

The experiment was laid out in a randomized block designwith a factorial concept and replicated thrice. The data were

Members of the Research Forum

Associated Authors:1Horticultural College and ResearchInstitute, Dr. Y.S.R. HorticulturalUniversity, ANANTHARAJUPET(A.P.) INDIA

HIND AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND TRAINING INSTITUTE

collected on fruit quality and seed characters were recorded.

RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONThe results obtained from the present investigation as

well as relevant discussion have been summarised underfollowing heads:

Effect on fruit characters:Fruit quality parameters like number of fruits per plant,

yield per plant, fruit size (length, diameter and volume), fruitweight, pulp content, TSS and ascorbic acid were significantlyinfluenced by different transplanting dates and varieties (Table1 and 2). Planting dates x varieties interaction was significantfor number of fruits per plant, yield per plant, fruit size (length,diameter and volume), fruit weight, pulp content, TSS andascorbic acid, while it was non-significant for total solublesolids (TSS) and titrable acidity.

The maximum number of fruits and yield per plant (33.31and 1.25 kg) was recorded in October 15th planting which wassuperior to the other planting dates. The lowest number offruits and yield per plant (19.63 and 0.81 kg.) was recorded incrop transplanted on November 15th (D

6). Remarkable increase

in number of fruits and yield per plant might be due to

Effect of different transplanting dates and varieties on fruitquality and seed yield of tomato

C. MADHUMATHI AND SYED SADARUNNISA

Article history :Received : 17.07.2012Revised : 13.02.2013Accepted : 03.03.2013

Author for correspondence :C. MADHUMATHIHorticultural College and ResearchInstitute, Dr. Y.S.R. HorticulturalUniversity, ANANTHARAJUPET(A.P.) INDIAEmail : madhumathi_karanam@yahoo.co.in

ABSTRACT : Transplanting of tomato during 15th of October recorded significantly higher number offruits per plant (33.31), yield per plant (1.25kg), fruit size (length, diameter and volume), fruit weight(42.63 g), pulp content (54.01%), ascorbic acid (20.81 mg/100 g pulp) and number of seeds per fruit(192.21) over other dates of planting. Among the varieties, maximum number of fruits per plant, yieldper plant, titrable acidity, ascorbic acid content, number of seeds per fruit and seed weight per fruit wererecorded in Pusa Ruby, whereas Pusa Early Dwarf recorded maximum fruit size, fruit weight, pulpcontent, TSS and 1000 – seed weight. Among the treatment combinations Pusa Ruby planted on October15th emerged as the best combination with regard to fruit quality and seed characters.

KEY WORDS : Tomato, Varieties, Transplanting dates, Fruit quality, Seed characters

HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE : Madhumathi, C. and Sadarunnisa, Syed (2013). Effect of different transplantingdates and varieties on fruit quality and seed yield of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), Asian J. Hort.,8(1) : 8-11.

THEASIAN JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE

Research Paper

Volume 8 | Issue 1 | June, 2013 | 8-11

Hind Agricultural Research and Training InstituteAsian J. Hort., 8(1) June, 2013 : 9

favourable temperature conditions, longer growth periodavailable and mild fluctuations between night and daytemperatures during that period. Devi and Singhal (2002) hadobtained more fruits in early plantings than late plantings.Kadam et al. (1991), Muthukrishanan et al. (1982) and Sharmaand Tewari (1982) also reported significant decline in fruityield when planting of tomato was delayed.

Among varieties Pusa Ruby yielded highest number offruits and yield per plant (32.61 and 1.19 kg) compared to PusaEarly Dwarf. These findings are in conformity with Gautam etal. (1981) who has reported that ability to bear fruits variedamong varieties due to their genetic makeup. There was alsosignificant interaction between transplanting dates andvarieties. Pusa Ruby produced highest number of fruits andyield per plant under D

4 planting (October 15th).

The average fruit size (length, diameter and volume) wassignificantly larger with October 15th (D

4) planting and

decreased with delay in planting. Larger fruits with earlyplanting might be due to optimum weather conditions duringfruit development period. Small sized fruits were recorded withNovember 15th planting. Among varieties Pusa Early Dwarfproduced larger fruits compared to Pusa Ruby. Pusa EarlyDwarf at October 15th plantings produced larger fruitscompared to rest of the combinations.

Fruit weight and pulp content per fruit increased withsuccessive dates of planting from September 5th to October15th while they decreased with further delay in planting.Tomato planted on October 15th recorded significantlymaximum fruit weight and pulp content per fruit. Seasonalinfluence on weight of tomato fruits was reported by Sharmaand Thakur (1995). Among the varieties Pusa Early Dwarfproduced higher fruit weight and pulp content per fruit. PusaEarly Dwarf planted on October 15th produced heavier fruits(45.02g) with better pulp content (56.78%).

Total soluble solids (TSS) content of fruits was higherwith November 15th (D

6) planting, while those from October

5th (D3) planting recorded the lowest. Late plantings ripened

under slightly higher temperature which may be a major factorin improving TSS in the November 15th planted tomatoes.Similar effects of temperature on TSS were noted by Saimbhiand Gill (1988). Maximum ascorbic acid content in fruits wasobserved in October 15th transplanted crop (20.81 mg 100 g-1), while it was the minimum in November 15th (D

6) (17.70 mg

100 g-1). Similar reports on variations in seasonal conditionsdid influence on ascorbic acid content of tomato byMarisiddaiah and Gowda (1978). Among varieties Pusa Rubyproduced fruits with higher ascorbic content compared toPusa Early Dwarf. Fruits of Pusa Ruby planted in October15th produced maximum amount of ascorbic acid content.

Transplanting dates and their interactions with varietiesfailed to influence titrable acidity significantly. While amongvarieties Pusa Ruby showed higher acidity than Pusa EarlyDwarf at all the transplanting dates.

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Hind Agricultural Research and Training InstituteAsian J. Hort., 8(1) June, 2013 : 10

EFFECT OF DIFFERENT TRANSPLANTING DATES & VARIETIES ON FRUIT QUALITY & SEED YIELD OF TOMATO

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Effect on seed characters:All the transplanting dates and interactions with varieties

failed to exert significant difference on seed weight per fruitand 1000 seed weight. However, numbers of seeds per fruitwere significantly affected by different transplanting dates(Table 3). The number of seeds, weight of seeds per fruit and1000 seed weight increased upto October 15th, but plantingthereafter there was no increase, even though seed weightper fruit and 1000 seed weight have not differed significantly.This greater number of seeds per fruit with October plantingmight be due to suitable environmental conditions especially,the temperature during D

4 planting has resulted in maximum

fruit and seed setting thereby increasing number of seeds perfruit. Devi and Singhal (2002) and Kaur and Kanwar (2006)also observed influence of different transplanting dates onnumber of seeds. The fruits of Pusa Ruby had higher numberof seeds per fruit, whereas the fruits of Pusa Early Dwarf hadhigher seed weight per fruit and 1000 seed weight. Devi andSinghal (2002) also observed similar differences among thevarieties for seed characters. Pusa Ruby planted on October15th produced maximum number of seeds per fruit.

From the study, it may be concluded that under southernagro climatic conditions of Andhra Pradesh, higher fruit qualityof tomato can be obtained by transplanting the tomato duringOctober 15th (D

4) with Pusa Ruby compared to rest of the

combinations.

REFERENCESDevi, L.C. and Singhal, N.C. (2002). Seed production studies intomato under different planting dates. Seed Tech. News, 32:69-70.

Gautam, R.R., Dhankar, B.S. and Kalloo, G. (1981). Evaluationof tomato genotypes for fruit set under low temperature conditions.Haryana J. Hort. Sci., 10 : 86-91.

Kadam, D.D., Deore, B.P. and Chaudhari, S.M. (1991). Effect ofsowing dates and stalking on yield of tomato. Indian Agric., 35 : 225-30.

Kaur, M. and Kanwar, J.S. (2006). Response of genotypes andplanting dates to fruit and seed yield in tomato. Haryana J. Hort.Sci., 35(3&4):331-333.

Marisiddaiah, M. and Gowda, P.M. (1978). Effects of growthretardants on yield and fruit quality attributes of hybrid tomatoKarnataka – 1. Madras Agric. J., 65: 28-32.

Muthukrishanan, C.R., Subbiah, R. and Irulappan, I. (1982).Studies on the performance of tomato cultivars at different periods ofplanting. South Indian J. Hort., 30 : 211-212.

Saimbhi, M.S. and Gill, B.S. (1988). Effect of date of transplantingon the yield and quality of processing tomato. J. Res. Punjab Agric.Univ., 25(4): 571-575.

Sharma, N.K. and Tewari, R.S. (1992). Effect of dates of plantingon growth and yield of tomato cv. PUSA RUBY. Prog.Hort., 24:188-191.

Sharma, S.K. and Thakur, M.C. (1995). Quality and seed yield oftomato as influenced by different transplanting dates. Veg. Sci., 22(1):33-35.

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