Study on the kinetics of tomato storage quality under water and fertilizer coupling

To improve the storage quality of tomatoes, an optimized water and fertilizer management scheme was developed by exploring the dynamic effects of water-fertilizer coupling on tomato quality during storage. A dynamic model of tomato fruit quality stored under 4 °C was established, with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium application rates as experimental factors. A half-four-element quadratic rotary composite design (20 treatments) was adopted. Tomatoes were stored at 4 °C for 28 d, and quality indicators (hardness, soluble sugar, lycopene, and vitamin C) were analyzed using Pearson correlation and comprehensive evaluation methods. A response model linking the comprehensive quality score to fertilizer levels was constructed. Results demonstrated that appropriate water-fertilizer ratios enhanced tomato quality, while excessive or insufficient parameters reduced it. Changes in quality indicators during storage followed first-order kinetic equations. Optimized parameters through tomato quality index (TQI) analysis included irrigation at 602 mm·hm⁻², nitrogen at 570 kg·hm⁻², phosphorus at 70 kg·hm⁻², and potassium at 738 kg·hm⁻², which effectively improved storage quality with satisfactory model fit and storability.