Will Tomato Mix-planted with Rice Survive under Vegetative Stage Transient Flooding?

The production of tomatoes during the wet season is challenging due to its vulnerability to oxygen (O2) deficiency due to seasonal flooding in some growing areas. In this study, tomato mix-planted with rice was done to assess tomato survival during transient flooding through sourcing of its O2 requirements from the radial O2 loss (ROL) in rice roots. The experiment was conducted in a screenhouse and laid out in a split-plot design in a randomized complete block design with water treatment as the main plot and plant culture treatment as the subplot with six replications. Three replications were sampled after the imposition of transient flooding at the vegetative stage, whereas the remaining three were sampled at maturity. Under transient flooding, tomato mix-planted with NSIC Rc 216 had higher shoot growth and yield than its monoculture, whereas those mix-planted with NSIC Rc 25 did not sustain the tomato growth. Soil O2 concentration and stomatal conductance of the tomato mix-planted with NSIC Rc 216 was higher than its monoculture and tomato mix-planted with NSIC Rc 25. Low soil O2 concentration caused low stomatal conductance and wilting of monoculture tomato and tomato mix-planted with NSIC Rc 25. In contrast, only tomato mix-planted with NSIC Rc 216 produced yield under transient flooding. This suggests that under mix-planting, the roots of rice partially provided O2 to tomato roots to maintain their growth and development during transient flooding but it is genotype dependent.