Ornamental cherry tomatoes in different protected environments and reflector materials in cultivation Bench

Abstract

The study aimed to evaluate the growth of ornamental cherry tomato plants in different protected environments and reflective materials on the cultivation benches. As there were no repetitions of the protected environments, each environment was considered an experiment. In each environment, the experimental design used was completely randomized with five replications and three plants per plot. From the analysis of individual variances and evaluation of the mean squares of residues smaller than seven, the joint analysis of variance was performed (three protected environments x three reflective materials on the cultivation bench + 1 control without material). The protected environments evaluated were the agricultural greenhouse with a screen of 42-50% shading under the film, the agricultural screenhouse with a black screen of 30% shading, and the agricultural screenhouse with an aluminized screen of 35% shading. The reflective materials on the cultivation bench were Aluminet®, white Formica laminate, and red Formica laminate. The different protected environments influenced the growth of plants, and due to the lower incident light, the plants showed greater height in the agricultural greenhouse (42-50% shading). The reflective benches did not interfere with plant height but favored fruit production. The agricultural greenhouse (42-50% shading)) stands among the environments. For the reflective materials on the bench, aluminized fabric and red Formica laminate stood out, as they favored the growth of cherry tomato plants with desirable ornamental traits, such as greater fruit production.