The Use of Spectral Vegetation Indices to Evaluate the Effect of Grafting and Salt Concentration on the Growth Performance of Different Tomato Varieties Grown Hydroponically

Water scarcity has prompted researchers to intensify studies on the optimal use of saline water in irrigating agricultural crops to improve the efficiency of exploiting available water resources. Therefore, this study aimed to use selected spectral vegetation indices to investigate the potential of...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Elkamil Tola, Khalid A. Al-Gaadi, Rangaswamy Madugundu, Ahmed M. Zeyada, Mohamed K. Edrris, Haroon F. Edrees, Omer Mahjoop
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:Horticulturae
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/4/368
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850180371367329792
author Elkamil Tola
Khalid A. Al-Gaadi
Rangaswamy Madugundu
Ahmed M. Zeyada
Mohamed K. Edrris
Haroon F. Edrees
Omer Mahjoop
author_facet Elkamil Tola
Khalid A. Al-Gaadi
Rangaswamy Madugundu
Ahmed M. Zeyada
Mohamed K. Edrris
Haroon F. Edrees
Omer Mahjoop
author_sort Elkamil Tola
collection DOAJ
description Water scarcity has prompted researchers to intensify studies on the optimal use of saline water in irrigating agricultural crops to improve the efficiency of exploiting available water resources. Therefore, this study aimed to use selected spectral vegetation indices to investigate the potential of grafting in mitigating the effect of salinity on the growth of tomato plants grown under a hydroponic system. Three commercial tomato cultivars (Forester-F1, Feisty-Red, and Ghandowra-F1,) and five tomato hybrid rootstocks (Beaufort, Maxifort, Dynafort, Unifort, and Vivifort) were investigated using nutrient solutions at three salinity levels, namely, 2.5 dS m<sup>−1</sup> (S1, low salinity level), 6.0 dS m<sup>−1</sup> (S2, medium salinity level), and 9.5 dS m<sup>−1</sup> (S3, high salinity level). The results showed that Ghandowra-F1 had the best growth performance under hydroponics compared to the other two varieties. The increase in the salinity of the nutrient solution negatively affected the vegetation growth of tomato plants. Low and medium salinity did not show any significant effect on the three tomato varieties, unlike high salinity, which showed a significant negative effect on the vegetative growth of the plant. Thus, it is possible to successfully grow tomatoes in hydroponics using nutrient solutions with a salt concentration of up to 6.0 dS m<sup>−1</sup>. Although there was a slight improvement in the vegetative growth of grafted tomato plants, all the studied rootstocks showed no significant differences compared to non-grafted tomato plants. This study could greatly contribute to strategies targeting the improvement of tomato production in hydroponics.
format Article
id doaj-art-3c811c5ab072438b8345cdab31afeb45
institution OA Journals
issn 2311-7524
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Horticulturae
spelling doaj-art-3c811c5ab072438b8345cdab31afeb452025-08-20T02:18:11ZengMDPI AGHorticulturae2311-75242025-03-0111436810.3390/horticulturae11040368The Use of Spectral Vegetation Indices to Evaluate the Effect of Grafting and Salt Concentration on the Growth Performance of Different Tomato Varieties Grown HydroponicallyElkamil Tola0Khalid A. Al-Gaadi1Rangaswamy Madugundu2Ahmed M. Zeyada3Mohamed K. Edrris4Haroon F. Edrees5Omer Mahjoop6Precision Agriculture Research Chair, Deanship of Scientific Research, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaPrecision Agriculture Research Chair, Deanship of Scientific Research, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaPrecision Agriculture Research Chair, Deanship of Scientific Research, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Agricultural Engineering, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaPrecision Agriculture Research Chair, Deanship of Scientific Research, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaPrecision Agriculture Research Chair, Deanship of Scientific Research, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaPrecision Agriculture Research Chair, Deanship of Scientific Research, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi ArabiaWater scarcity has prompted researchers to intensify studies on the optimal use of saline water in irrigating agricultural crops to improve the efficiency of exploiting available water resources. Therefore, this study aimed to use selected spectral vegetation indices to investigate the potential of grafting in mitigating the effect of salinity on the growth of tomato plants grown under a hydroponic system. Three commercial tomato cultivars (Forester-F1, Feisty-Red, and Ghandowra-F1,) and five tomato hybrid rootstocks (Beaufort, Maxifort, Dynafort, Unifort, and Vivifort) were investigated using nutrient solutions at three salinity levels, namely, 2.5 dS m<sup>−1</sup> (S1, low salinity level), 6.0 dS m<sup>−1</sup> (S2, medium salinity level), and 9.5 dS m<sup>−1</sup> (S3, high salinity level). The results showed that Ghandowra-F1 had the best growth performance under hydroponics compared to the other two varieties. The increase in the salinity of the nutrient solution negatively affected the vegetation growth of tomato plants. Low and medium salinity did not show any significant effect on the three tomato varieties, unlike high salinity, which showed a significant negative effect on the vegetative growth of the plant. Thus, it is possible to successfully grow tomatoes in hydroponics using nutrient solutions with a salt concentration of up to 6.0 dS m<sup>−1</sup>. Although there was a slight improvement in the vegetative growth of grafted tomato plants, all the studied rootstocks showed no significant differences compared to non-grafted tomato plants. This study could greatly contribute to strategies targeting the improvement of tomato production in hydroponics.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/4/368hydroponicsspectroscopyvegetation indicestomatografting
spellingShingle Elkamil Tola
Khalid A. Al-Gaadi
Rangaswamy Madugundu
Ahmed M. Zeyada
Mohamed K. Edrris
Haroon F. Edrees
Omer Mahjoop
The Use of Spectral Vegetation Indices to Evaluate the Effect of Grafting and Salt Concentration on the Growth Performance of Different Tomato Varieties Grown Hydroponically
Horticulturae
hydroponics
spectroscopy
vegetation indices
tomato
grafting
title The Use of Spectral Vegetation Indices to Evaluate the Effect of Grafting and Salt Concentration on the Growth Performance of Different Tomato Varieties Grown Hydroponically
title_full The Use of Spectral Vegetation Indices to Evaluate the Effect of Grafting and Salt Concentration on the Growth Performance of Different Tomato Varieties Grown Hydroponically
title_fullStr The Use of Spectral Vegetation Indices to Evaluate the Effect of Grafting and Salt Concentration on the Growth Performance of Different Tomato Varieties Grown Hydroponically
title_full_unstemmed The Use of Spectral Vegetation Indices to Evaluate the Effect of Grafting and Salt Concentration on the Growth Performance of Different Tomato Varieties Grown Hydroponically
title_short The Use of Spectral Vegetation Indices to Evaluate the Effect of Grafting and Salt Concentration on the Growth Performance of Different Tomato Varieties Grown Hydroponically
title_sort use of spectral vegetation indices to evaluate the effect of grafting and salt concentration on the growth performance of different tomato varieties grown hydroponically
topic hydroponics
spectroscopy
vegetation indices
tomato
grafting
url https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/11/4/368
work_keys_str_mv AT elkamiltola theuseofspectralvegetationindicestoevaluatetheeffectofgraftingandsaltconcentrationonthegrowthperformanceofdifferenttomatovarietiesgrownhydroponically
AT khalidaalgaadi theuseofspectralvegetationindicestoevaluatetheeffectofgraftingandsaltconcentrationonthegrowthperformanceofdifferenttomatovarietiesgrownhydroponically
AT rangaswamymadugundu theuseofspectralvegetationindicestoevaluatetheeffectofgraftingandsaltconcentrationonthegrowthperformanceofdifferenttomatovarietiesgrownhydroponically
AT ahmedmzeyada theuseofspectralvegetationindicestoevaluatetheeffectofgraftingandsaltconcentrationonthegrowthperformanceofdifferenttomatovarietiesgrownhydroponically
AT mohamedkedrris theuseofspectralvegetationindicestoevaluatetheeffectofgraftingandsaltconcentrationonthegrowthperformanceofdifferenttomatovarietiesgrownhydroponically
AT haroonfedrees theuseofspectralvegetationindicestoevaluatetheeffectofgraftingandsaltconcentrationonthegrowthperformanceofdifferenttomatovarietiesgrownhydroponically
AT omermahjoop theuseofspectralvegetationindicestoevaluatetheeffectofgraftingandsaltconcentrationonthegrowthperformanceofdifferenttomatovarietiesgrownhydroponically
AT elkamiltola useofspectralvegetationindicestoevaluatetheeffectofgraftingandsaltconcentrationonthegrowthperformanceofdifferenttomatovarietiesgrownhydroponically
AT khalidaalgaadi useofspectralvegetationindicestoevaluatetheeffectofgraftingandsaltconcentrationonthegrowthperformanceofdifferenttomatovarietiesgrownhydroponically
AT rangaswamymadugundu useofspectralvegetationindicestoevaluatetheeffectofgraftingandsaltconcentrationonthegrowthperformanceofdifferenttomatovarietiesgrownhydroponically
AT ahmedmzeyada useofspectralvegetationindicestoevaluatetheeffectofgraftingandsaltconcentrationonthegrowthperformanceofdifferenttomatovarietiesgrownhydroponically
AT mohamedkedrris useofspectralvegetationindicestoevaluatetheeffectofgraftingandsaltconcentrationonthegrowthperformanceofdifferenttomatovarietiesgrownhydroponically
AT haroonfedrees useofspectralvegetationindicestoevaluatetheeffectofgraftingandsaltconcentrationonthegrowthperformanceofdifferenttomatovarietiesgrownhydroponically
AT omermahjoop useofspectralvegetationindicestoevaluatetheeffectofgraftingandsaltconcentrationonthegrowthperformanceofdifferenttomatovarietiesgrownhydroponically