Abstract

The cultivation of cherry tomatoes during the summer season poses significant challenges concerning growth, yield, and development. Cultivating cherry tomatoes while upholding optimal climatic conditions throughout the scorching summer months requires a comprehensive assessment. Experimental studies were carried out to investigate the potential impact of greenhouse climate on cherry tomatoes, “Cheramy F1” (Solanum Lycopersicon var. cerasiforme) in the soilless system during the summer season in two consecutive years, 2022 and 2023. The experiments were carried out inside the greenhouse at the University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest (44.4710° N, 26.0656° E). The relationship between the plants’ growth and applied microclimatic conditions was evaluated based on their impact on changes in plant total height, growth rate, stem diameter, and total leaf count. The productivity performance of plants has been observed based on data available regarding the length of inflorescence, total mass per inflorescence, average fruit mass per inflorescence, fruit firmness, fruit keeping days, and fruit biochemical components. The growth attributes significantly varied on different observation dates in relation to available greenhouse conditions. Significant interactions between available greenhouse conditions and certain growth attributes have been observed. The greenhouse experienced fluctuations in conditions during the vegetative and reproductive stages - 23.16 °C and 20.26 °C and light and CO₂ - 468.46 °C and 356.02 °C W/m², - 479.27ppm and 446.06ppm a, appeared with maximum growth and productivity influence during the months of July and august. The results reveal both positive and negative linear correlations between greenhouse factors and productivity attributes. Awareness of climate impacts enables growers to adjust conditions, preventing stressors and enhancing crop resilience and productivity,” emphasizes the critical role of environmental control and grower knowledge in achieving successful cherry tomato cultivation in greenhouses. Co-relation and analysis of variance were used to statistically analyze the presented results at a confidence level of p < 0.05.

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