[Effects of substrate-aeration cultivation pattern on tomato growth]

Aeroponics can increase the fruit yield of tomato plant, but its cost is very high. In this paper, tomato seedlings were planted with three cultures, i. e., whole perlite culture (CK), perlite-aeration culture (T1), and aeroponics (T2), and a comparative study was made on the seedlings growth. Compared with CK, T1 improved the gas environment in root zone significantly, with the CO2 and O2 concentrations in root zone being 0.2 and 1.17 times higher, and increased the plant height and stem diameter after 60 days of transplanting by 5.1% and 8.4%, respectively. The plant net photosynthetic rate of T1 was significantly higher than that of CK, with the maximum value after transplanting 45 days increased by 13%. T1 also increased the root activity and ion absorbing ability significantly, with the root activity after transplanting 45 days being 1.23 times of CK, and the root K, Ca, and Mg contents after transplanting 60 days increased by 31%, 37%, and 27%, respectively. The fruit yield of T1 was 1.16 times of CK. No significant differences in these indices were observed between T1 and T2, and less difference in the fruit soluble sugar and organic acid contents as well as the sugar-acid ratio was found among CK, T1, and T2. It was suggested that perlite-aeration cultivation pattern was an easy and feasible way to markedly improve the fruit yield of tomato plant.