Deficit Irrigation on Tomato Production in a Greenhouse Environment: A Review

Abstract

Tomatoes are popular worldwide and represent a high water-dependent horticultural crop cultivated both in open fields and greenhouses. Several irrigation management strategies are currently practiced in greenhouse tomato production. Among them, deficit irrigation has been generally applied in areas where access to fresh water is difficult or expensive. The overall objective of this review is to synthesize studies related to deficit irrigation for greenhouse tomato cultivation and to explore its strengths, limitations, and potential and future outlook. The effects of deficit irrigation on water productivity, yields, and crop quality parameters when planted in different soil types using different cultivars were reviewed. We infer that deficit irrigation can result in decreased tomato yields and improved water productivity and crop quality parameters at defined levels of irrigation deficiency. The effects of deficit irrigation on tomato yield, water productivity, and crop quality were found to be cultivar specific. Furthermore, the same cultivar, when subjected to different deficit irrigation techniques, demonstrates different yield and quality responses.