Assessing the growth, yield, and biochemical composition of greenhouse cherry tomatoes with special emphasis on the progressive growth report

The growth of plants hinges on a complex interplay of biochemical and physiological activities across various growth stages. These intricate processes dynamically adapt to different environmental conditions, shaping both plant development and productivity. This study explores the impact of greenhouse climate on the growth, yield, and biochemistry of winter-grown cherry tomatoes 'Cheramy F1'. A randomized complete block design (RCBD) under split plot arrangements (3 Rows) with three replications (3 plants from each row) was adopted. The data were collected on various dates during the period extending from December to March of two consecutive growing seasons in 2022 and 2023, and presented as averages. An analysis of variance was applied to statistically analyze the collected data at a confidence level of p < 0.05. The climatic conditions in the greenhouse were calculated as temperature ranging from a minimum of 10.5 °C to the maximum of 41.3 °C by an average of 21.2 °C during the vegetative stage and from 8.2 °C to 32.3 °C by an average of 20.9 °C during the fruit-bearing stage, with an average CO₂ concentration fluctuated within the range of 385.61 ppm to 510.30 ppm and an average light intensity of 94.62 to 240.45 W/m². This study assessed various growth parameters such as plant height, leaf growth, stem diameter, leaf spacing, leaf count, leaf area, and inflorescence count per plant, and suggested the optimum range of greenhouse conditions for each stage. The key results of this study revealed the Progressive Growth Report (PGR), predicting daily potential growth rates of plants: plant height, 2.86 to 3.81 cm/day; growth rate of mature older leaf: 0.003988 m²/day; middle younger leaf: 0.008733 m²/day; top nascent leaf: 0.010722 m²/day; three to five leaves per week; and one inflorescence per week. In our accidental observation, we noticed unusual plant growth and yield responses because of the various growing postures and positions that the plants adopted in the greenhouse. An exceedingly significant difference among the inflorescences was found in view of their growth, productivity and biochemical composition. A non-significant interaction was found between the fruit keeping quality (shelf days), fruit height, fruit diameter, and inflorescence number. The present study results highlight the possible responses of greenhouse-grown cherry tomatoes to different ranges of temperature, light intensity, and CO₂ concentrations, offering valuable insights for optimizing greenhouse cherry tomatoes cultivation.