Yield of Physalis philadelphica Lam. ‘Manzano’ depending on population density and calcium oxide doses

Physalis philadelphica Lam. known as husk tomato, is widely cultivated for its edible fruits. Calcium activates and regulates division, cell elongation and is essential for the development of growth organs such as roots, shoots, and fruits. The objective of this study was to evaluate the leaf area and yield of P. philadelphica Lam. ‘Manzano’ as a function of calcium oxide doses and planting densities, under open field conditions. The nine treatments resulted from the combination of three planting densities and four doses of foliar fertilizer. The experimental design was in randomized complete blocks with factorial arrangement. The data were compared with analysis of variance and the means of the treatments with the Tukey test (p≤0.05). The relationship between performance and the study variables were estimated with simple linear regressions. The yield of P. philadelphica grew with the increment of the different planting densities and the doses of calcium oxide; 5 plants m^‑2 produced the highest yield (18.13 t ha^‑1); while with 2.5 L ha^‑1 calcium oxide, the average yield was 18.14 t ha^‑1. For each unit of develop in the variables: leaf area, leaf area index, number of fruits plant^‑1 and fruit weight plant^‑1; the fruit yield increased. The regression lines between yield and fruit weight (0.70) and leaf area index (0.92) showed a significant coefficient of determination.