Covering materials affect the earliness but not tomato quality

Ultraviolet (UV)-absorbing plastic films are being used as a photoselective barrier to control insect vectors and associated virus diseases in different horticultural crops. An experiment was carried out in Murcia (south-eastern Spain) in 4 tunnel greenhouses to evaluate the effects of ultraviolet (UV)-blocking films on tomato yield and quality. Each greenhouse had a floor area of 50 m2. The orientation was N-S. Four covering films were tested:T1 co-extruded three layer 200 ?, T2 thermal PE 200 ?, T3 long life PE 180 ? and T4 UV-absorbing PE 200 ?. Fruits were harvested twice a week at turning ripening stage. Radiation outside and inside of each greenhouse were measured with a photo-radiometer. The following parameters were determined: number of fruits per plant, fruit weight, early and total yield, colour, fruit firmness, juiciness, dry matter, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), titratable acidity (TA) and soluble solids (TSS). At the beginning of the experiment plastic films had a 30 (T1), 55 (T2), 95 (T3) and 99 (T4) % of reduction in incoming UV, respectively. Covering films had worse radiation properties after 158 days, especially those with UV-blocking characteristics. The agronomical results showed T4 had the highest early production and the lowest final production. Covering materials hardly affected fruit quality, being tomato fruits grown under T3 and T4 which had the highest values of EC and TSS, respectively. Sources Efecto de diferentes cubiertas pl?sticas fotoselectivas sobre la cosecha y calidad de un cultivo de tomate Josefa L?pez-Mar?n; Alberto Gonz?lez; Catalina Egea-gilabert; Juan A. Fern?ndez VII Congreso Ib?rico de Agroingenier?a y Ciencias Hort?colas, Madrid, 26-29 agosto 2013 http://sechaging-madrid2013.org/eposter/?seccion=search The picture is byinia.cl Key words Tomate?? ? ?? ?tomato?? ?tamatie?? ???????? ?????? ??? ??? ?????????? ???????? ?tomaat?? ?pomodoro?? ?pomidor?? ??? ?????????? ??? domates?? ??? ??????? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ????