Effect of Greenhouse Covering Materials on Tomato Grown During Hot Months

In most regions of the Mediterranean area, the extension of the growing period of greenhouse tomato to all the year round is progressively occurring. This leads to a number of consequences on growth parameters and plant performance because of the high temperatures often recorded during the hottest months. To face these conditions, different greenhouse covering materials to traditional polyethylene are proposed for some growing seasons. We have conducted, during summer months, a trial in a wooden-concrete greenhouse to compare different covering materials (i.e. insect net, photo selective film and polyethylene film [control]) and evaluate plant response in terms of growth, yield level and fruit characteristics. The different climatic conditions determined by the adopted covering materials significantly influenced dry matter production, yields and fruit qualitative characteristics. The highest yields were observed in the greenhouse covered with the insect net, whereas the photo selective film negatively influenced both fruit yield and dry matter production. Greenhouse covering material significantly affected both fruit shape and dry matter content.