ABSTRACT: A field experiment was conducted for two successive winter seasons of 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 in the farm of the Faculty of Agriculture, Moshtohor, Benha University, Egypt, to explore the effects of treating the plastic tunnels with ZnO nanoparticles on the growth parameters, yield and its quality of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill cv. Super Strain B). It also investigates the effects of using the foliar application of chitosan nanoparticles applied at 0.5 and 1% versus the commercial chitosan applied at the same rates on the growth parameters and the yield of tomatoes and whether these treatments could be positively/negatively affected by treating the plastic tunnels with ZnO nanoparticles. Results revealed that the tomato plants grown under nano-composite covering (PE with nano-ZnO) resulted in vigor growth, higher yield and fruit quality compared with the tomato plants under low plastic tunnel (PE without nano-ZnO). Chitosan nanoparticles (0.5 or 1 %) increased the plant growth (plant height, fresh, dry weight and leave area), early and total yield per plant and per feddan and average fruit weight beside of improving the quality of fruits (vitamin C, acidity and total sugars) than all other treatments. Thus, using chitosan nano particles (0.5 or 1 %) under nano-composite covering (PE with nano-ZnO) is the recommended practice to attain good growth parameters and achieve early and high total yield with better quality of tomato fruits. However, the low concentration of chitosan nano-particles achieves the highest return economist in this case.
Keywords: Tomato, Chitosan, Low plastic tunnels, polyethylene (PE), Nano-ZnO, Feddan (fed. = 4200 m2)