TITLE:
Foliar spray application of glucosinolates and essential oils on processing tomato in open field production system
AUTHORS:
Catello Pane, Domenico Rongai, Massimo Zaccardelli
KEYWORDS:
Foliar Applications; Integrate Pest Management; Natural Pesticides; Seed Meal; Sustainable Agriculture
JOURNAL NAME:
Agricultural Sciences,
Vol.4 No.3,
March
28,
2013
ABSTRACT:
The development of new strategies of integrate pest management to improve processing tomato yield and sustainable quality, are requested by the market. This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of foliar applications of glucosinolates and certain medicinal plant essential oils in open field cultivation management. Tomato yield from plots treated with rosemary oil and glucosinolates resulted, on average, significantly higher, until 28%, than that of the control plots. However thyme and oregano oil treated plots showed statistically lower values. Plant vegetative status, including phytosanitary aspects, had the same trend as the production as showed by the exponential regression between two parameters. Findings allow us to conclude that foliar spray of glucosinolates and rosemary essential oils prove to be highly effective treatments inducing increases of tomato yield through plant health improvement.