INFLUENCE OF MULCHING AND PLASTIC WATER TUBES ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY OF ORGANICALLY - GROWN GREENHOUSE TOMATO

The temperature, inside the greenhouse must be kept constant between predetermined limits to obtain the desired plant development, therefore, greenhouses must be heated in cold seasons. Greenhouse heating can account few 20–80 % of the cost price of the product, depending on the countries and regions. In our country, heating is not applied regularly in the Mediterranean and Aegean region which are known as the greenhouse regions, only basic local heating methods are applied to protect the plants against frost. In order to protect the plants from frost and to obtain increases yield and quality, the usage of renewable energy sources has a great importance. The most important energy sources for Turkey are the sun and renewable geothermal energy sources.

In this research, water tubes have been used to derive a benefit from the solar energy by a passive method. The effect of the transparent PE mulch used for the purpose of conserving soil moisture and temperature, have been used in combination with water tubes. According to the results obtained from this research, water tubes cause a 0.4–0.7 °C temperature increase in the plastic greenhouses. In frost, which appears in February, the tomato plants with mulch and near the water tubes were less damaged than the others.