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Indicators of nutrient and water use efficiency in hydroponic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) production in greenhouses
Thesis (MScAgric)--Stellenbosch University, 2026.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2026
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| _version_ | 1867613901195051008 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Roux, Izak Herman |
| author2 | Kempen, Estelle |
| author_browse | Kempen, Estelle Roux, Izak Herman |
| author_facet | Kempen, Estelle Roux, Izak Herman |
| author_sort | Roux, Izak Herman |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MScAgric)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/135888 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:43:30.254Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/135888 Indicators of nutrient and water use efficiency in hydroponic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) production in greenhouses Roux, Izak Herman Kempen, Estelle Van Zyl, Jacques Stellenbosch University. Faculty of AgriSciences. Dept. of Agronomy. Thesis (MScAgric)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. Roux, I. H. 2026. Indicators of nutrient and water use efficiency in hydroponic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) production in greenhouses. Unpublished masters thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/61f8f10c-e2ed-4de6-b5c9-fbffb6372965 Improving water- and nutrient-use efficiency in greenhouse crop production is increasingly critical as agriculture faces mounting pressure from resource scarcity, rising input costs, and climate variability. Hydroponic greenhouse systems offer a highly controlled production environment in which water and nutrient delivery can be precisely managed; however, optimisation of fertigation strategies remains complex due to interacting effects of cultivar, nutrient formulation, and temporal dynamics across the production cycle. Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.), as a high-value horticultural crop with substantial water and nutrient demands, provide an ideal model for evaluating efficiency-oriented fertigation management under controlled conditions. This study investigated the effects of contrasting hydroponic fertigation strategies on tomato yield, plant growth, leaf nutrient status, and ion accumulation across three production seasons in a greenhouse. Experiments were conducted under commercial-scale hydroponic conditions using drip irrigation systems, with treatments differing in fertiliser composition and application strategy. Two tomato cultivars were evaluated to assess genotypic variation in response to fertigation management. Data were collected throughout each season, including harvest metrics, vegetative growth parameters, leaf nutrient concentrations, and solution ion profiles, allowing both temporal and treatment-specific responses to be assessed. All datasets were analysed using multifactorial analysis of variance to quantify the effects of Season, Treatment, Cultivar, Time, and their interactions. Where higher-order interactions were significant, interpretation was restricted accordingly to avoid overgeneralisation. Results demonstrated that crop responses to fertigation strategy were strongly season-dependent, with treatment effects frequently expressed through interactions with time and cultivar rather than as consistent main effects. Yield components, including total fruit weight per experimental unit (three-plant replicate block), average fruit weight, and pack-out percentage, showed variable sensitivity to fertigation treatments across seasons, indicating that efficiency outcomes cannot be inferred from single-season assessments alone. Leaf nutrient concentrations and ion accumulation patterns reflected coordinated yet dynamic responses to the fertigation strategy, with treatment effects often emerging at specific developmental stages rather than persisting uniformly throughout the season. Cultivar-specific differences were evident for several growth and nutrient parameters, highlighting the importance of genotype when interpreting fertigation efficiency and nutrient-use outcomes. Across seasons, patterns of water- and nutrient-use efficiency were more closely associated with integrated system responses than with isolated physiological or yield traits. Overall, this study demonstrates that fertigation efficiency in hydroponic greenhouse tomatoes is governed by the interactions among nutrient strategy, cultivar, and temporal context. The findings emphasise the need for multi-season, system-level evaluation when assessing fertiliser management strategies and caution against simplified interpretations based on single metrics or isolated time points. By integrating yield, growth, and nutrient dynamics across multiple seasons, this research contributes to a more robust framework for improving resource-use efficiency in hydroponic greenhouse production systems, while acknowledging limitations related to system scale, environmental specificity, and crop type. Masters 2026-04-14T09:32:28Z 2026-04-14T09:32:28Z 2026-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/135888 en Stellenbosch University 146 pages application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Roux, Izak Herman Indicators of nutrient and water use efficiency in hydroponic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) production in greenhouses |
| title | Indicators of nutrient and water use efficiency in hydroponic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) production in greenhouses |
| title_full | Indicators of nutrient and water use efficiency in hydroponic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) production in greenhouses |
| title_fullStr | Indicators of nutrient and water use efficiency in hydroponic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) production in greenhouses |
| title_full_unstemmed | Indicators of nutrient and water use efficiency in hydroponic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) production in greenhouses |
| title_short | Indicators of nutrient and water use efficiency in hydroponic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) production in greenhouses |
| title_sort | indicators of nutrient and water use efficiency in hydroponic tomato solanum lycopersicum production in greenhouses |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/135888 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT rouxizakherman indicatorsofnutrientandwateruseefficiencyinhydroponictomatosolanumlycopersicumproductioningreenhouses |