Use of Topaz (propiconazole) for transplant size control and early maturity of processing tomato
Jim DickTomato Solutions, Chatham
John ZandstraRidgetown College
John LangKraft Canada, Dresden
Background
- managing transplant height can be challenging at times
- techniques to help manage height would be useful
- transplants which establish and grow quickly are desired
Paclobutrazol (Bonzi)
- application to processing tomato seedlings as a soil drench @ 5 ppm at the 2 leaf stage required up to 5 times the fertilizer rate to achieve the desired plant height
- resulted in increased vigor in the field and advanced maturity
Propiconazole (Topaz, Tilt)
- presently registered as a fungicide on several food crops in Ontario:
- sweet corn - apricot- rutabaga - cherry- asparagus - peach and nectarine
Methods
- Transplants produced in the research greenhouse at Kraft, Dresden
- Used 2 commercial varieties
- TSH 04 (early hybrid)
- CC337 (late inbreed)
Methods
-Treatments included:1. Control 2. 5 ppm Paclobutrazol3. 25 ppm Propiconazole4. 25 ppm propiconazole (2 applications)5. 37.5 ppm propiconazole6. 50 ppm propiconazole
- All treatments were applied at the 2nd true leaf stage at a volume of 100 ml per tray
Greenhouse Fertilizer Regime
Control: 60-5-65 fertilizer solution at all times
- used Plant Products 12-2-14 and 14-0-14 fertilizer
Paclobutrazol: 150-25-175 for 5 days per week; 60-5-65 the rest of the time
Propiconazole: 150-25-175 once per week60-5-65 the rest of the time
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
180
190
Treatment
Heig
ht (m
m)
Control Paclo 5 Prop 25 Prop 25 2x Prop 37.5 Prop 50
Plant Height (mm) - 42 days
a
c
bab
aab
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
Top Root Total
Treatment
Weig
ht (g
)
Control Paclo 5 Prop 25 Prop 25 2x Prop 37.5 Prop 50
Plant Weights (g) 42 days
a
d
c
bb
b
a
c
b bb b
a
c
bb b b
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
699 CHU 849 CHU
Treatment
Weig
ht (g
)
Control Paclo 5 Prop 25 Prop 25 2x Prop 37.5 Prop 50
Plant Weights – Field (Ridgetown)TSH04 and CC337
b
b
a a a a a
a aa
a a
0
5
10
15
20
25
699 CHU 990 CHU
Treatment
Flo
wers
per
Pla
nt
Control Paclo 5 Prop 25 Prop 25 2x Prop 37.5 Prop 50
Flower Counts – RidgetownTSH04 and CC337
aa a
a
a
a
a
a
a
ab
b
30
32
34
36
38
40
42
44
46
48
50
Total Red
Treatment
tons/acre
Control Paclo 5 Prop 25 Prop 25 2x Prop 37.5 Prop 50
Yield (tons/acre) – Ridgetown TSH04 and CC337
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
% Ripe % Green
Treatment
Perc
ent (%
)
Control Paclo 5 Prop 25 Prop 25 2x Prop 37.5 Prop 50
Yield (percentage) – Ridgetown TSH04 and CC337
a
c bc bcb
bc
d
abc ab
cdabc
Methods – Trial 2-Treatments included:
1. Control 2. 2.5 ppm paclobutrazol3. 50 ppm propiconazole4. 100 ppm propiconazole5. 150 ppm propiconazole6. 200 ppm propiconazole
- All treatments were applied at the 2nd true leaf stage at a volume of 100 ml per tray
- Propiconazole treatments were made by applying 50 ppm solution at 5 day intervals
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
Top Root Total
Treatment
Weig
ht (g
)
Control Paclo 2.5 Prop 50 Prop 100 Prop 150 Prop 200
Plant Weight (g) – 36 Days
a
bc
bc
c c
a b ab b b b
a
bcb
c c c
Plant Weights – Field
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
295 CHU 458 CHU
Treatment
Weig
ht (g
)
Control Paclo 2.5 Prop 50 Prop 100 Prop 150 Prop 200
ad b bc bc cd
a
d
b b b
c
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
669 CHU 775 CHU 884 CHU
Treatment
Flo
wers
per
Pla
nt
Control Paclo 2.5 Paclo 50 Paclo 100 Paclo 150 Paclo 200
Flower Counts
ad a bc cd cd a
c
abbc bc c
a
c
abab
c bc
Uniconazole- - presently registered for growth
regulation in greenhouse bedding plants
- previous work demonstrated similar growth response of beans to paclobutrazol and uniconazole
- minor use request for use on tomato and pepper transplants in US
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Treatment
Heig
ht (c
m)
Control Paclo 5 Prop 2x50 Unicon 5 Apogee 50 Nova 150
Plant Height
a
a
c c cb b