The response of drip-irrigated processing tomatoes to irrigation frequencies, from 0.25 to 8 days, during fructification stage, was evaluated aiming to establish an irrigation criterion for the "Cerrado" conditions of Central Brazil. The rate of fully-red tomato fruits at harvest increased linearly as irrigation interval increased, while biomass production and number of fruit per plant were linearly reduced. Both marketable fruit yield and average fruits mass showed quadratic responses to treatments, reaching a maximum at irrigation interval of 0.8 day. Plant final stand, plant water use efficiency, total soluble solids content, and fruit firmness were not affected by irrigation interval. Rotten fruit rate featured negative linear correlation with irrigation interval, while the correlation for acidity was positive. For irrigation scheduling purposes based soil water status, the critical matric tension, related to the irrigation interval that maximized yield, was 10 kPa, evaluated at 20 cm depth.
Lycopersicon esculentum; water stress; irrigation scheduling; irrigation interval
