Physiological disorders and their management in greenhouse tomato cultivation at high temperatures

Abstract

In a greenhouse, an artificial environment is created inside a covering and crops are produced therein so as to cope with changes in the weather. However, cooling is more difficult to achieve than heating, and it is thus necessary to develop technology that addresses high temperatures. Tomato is a major vegetable grown in greenhouses. In tomato cultivation under high-temperature conditions, pollen fertility decreases, fertilization fails, and poor fruit sets result in decreased fruit yields. The incidence of physiological disorders (e.g., fruit cracking, blossom-end rot, leaf marginal necrosis, and yellow shoulder fruit) also increases. The mechanism underlying the occurrence of each physiological disorder and management techniques for suppressing these disorders are introduced in this chapter. Heat countermeasure technologies used in greenhouses in Japan, such as night cooling using a heat pump, fog cooling, and the use of appropriate covering materials, are also explained.