Commercial Extract from the Brown Seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum (Acadian®) Improves Yield and Quality of Hydroponically Grown Grape Tomato

Tomatoes are the leading greenhouse vegetable grown in North America and the world. Grape, cherry and plum varieties are gaining popularity as a healthy snack food and are becoming more commonly grown in greenhouse production. Almost all greenhouse tomatoes are produced hydroponically using computerized production systems and grown in media such as rock-wool or coconut fiber. In the US and Canada, growers normally transplant new plants into their greenhouses in December and the first ripe tomatoes are produced in late March. A greenhouse experiment at the Dr. James S. Craigie Research Center in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia was designed to test the effects of Acadian^® extract (a derivative from Ascophyllum nodosum) in the production of hydroponically grown greenhouse grape tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. var. Amsterdam). Ascophyllum nodosum seaweed extract (ASE) treatments in combination with a standard hydroponic fertilizer were applied to the root systems of grape tomato plants through the irrigation system. Fruit production and quality of the ASE-treated plants was compared to fertilizer-only treated plants. With the inclusion of ASE into the fertilizer program, the average number of fruit produced per plant increased by 9.5% and the total weight of fruit per plant by 8.1%. An increase of 13.4% in fruit wall thickness and a 10.9% increase in skin firmness were observed in the ASE treatments as well. Both of these parameters may lead to improved shelf-life. These results indicated that ASE applications increased yields and improved the quality of hydroponically grown grape tomatoes which ultimately improves the economic return for the user.