3. Effects of the drought induced stress on the flowering and the fruit set stages in tomato collection

In the current study, a collection of forty-seven tomato accessions divided into five groups and the sensitive control MoneyMaker were evaluated based on their performance under the condition of reduced irrigation. The tomato accessions were exposed to water stress (50% reduced irrigation). The reproductive traits (flower and fruit number, fruit set) and fruit weights were used in assessing the drought tolerance. A decrease in the flower number, fruit number, the fruit set and fruit weight from 2^nd to 5^th  inflorescence was observed in scarcity. Among the studied tomato groups, the indeterminate, the large fruited ones were the most strongly affected by the stress: reductions of 41.5% in the number of fruits and 40.0% of the average fruit weight were observed. The studied “Cherry” tomato and the accessions from Solanum pimpinellifolium L. have had a better drought tolerance compared to other groups. The cluster analysis showed that the individual accessions belonging to sensitive groups also possessed a better tolerance to water deficit.

Keywords: reproductive traits, fruit weight, water stress, tomato