ORIGINAL RESEARCH
The Effects of Hydrothermal Conditions
during Vegetation Period on Fruit Quality
of Processing Tomatoes
Barbara Skowera1, Elżbieta Jędrszczyk2, Joanna Kopcińska3,
Anna M. Ambroszczyk2, Anna Kołton4
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1Department of Ecology, Climatology, and Air Protection, Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Land Surveying,
University of Agriculture, al. Mickiewicza 24/28, 30-059 Kraków, Poland
2Department of Vegetable and Medicinal Plants, Faculty of Horticulture, University of Agriculture,
al. 29 Listopada 54, 31-425 Kraków, Poland
3Department of Applied Mathematics, Faculty of Environmental Engineering and Land Surveying,
University of Agriculture, ul. Balicka 253C, 31-149 Kraków, Poland
4Department of Botany and Plant Physiology, Faculty of Horticulture, University of Agriculture,
al. 29 Listopada 54, 31-425 Kraków, Poland
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2014;23(1):195-202
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Our experiment was carried out in experimental plots of the Vegetable Experimental Station of the
Agricultural University in Mydlniki near Kraków, Poland in 2008-10.
The year 2008 was characterized by the driest season of all three years, whereas in the other years of the
study the vegetation season seemed moderately humid. Based on the analyses of regression, we found a significant
influence of pluvial and thermal conditions on the fruit quality features of tomatoes. A directly proportional
relationship between the hydrothermal index (K) and the number of seed chambers, dry matter, and
content of lycopene, magnesium, and calcium of the tomato fruit was observed. However, the relationship
between the hydrothermal index (K) and fruit weight, potassium content, and total acidity turned out to be
inversely proportional. The impact of the hydrothermal conditions on the thickness of the pericarp, the shape
coefficient, phosphorus; L-ascorbic acid content, and the reducing sugars of the fruits was not observed. The
value distribution of the tested tomato features in all of the years of the experiment points to the different sensitivities
of individual tomato cultivars to thermal and precipitation conditions.
The aim of this study was to determine the influence of hydrothermal conditions represented by the
hydrothermal index (K) on the morphological features of tomato fruits and their chemical composition.