Sostenibilidad de un cultivo de tomate bajo condiciones de alta salinidad en un valle costero del Desierto de Atacama, Chile

The coastal valleys of the XV Region of Chile have exceptional climatic conditions for vegetable cultivation during the entire year; this region is the main supplier of tomato off-season for the country during winter. In December 2004, the province of Arica was declared free zone of Ceratitis capitata. This recognition allowed the diversification of agriculture in the coastal valleys of Arica, characterized until then by the monoculture of the tomato. Due to less availability of irrigation water and the displacement of the tomato crop by other salinity-sensitive vegetables such as pepper and salad cucumber, many tomato producers have moved to the Lluta valley due to the lower cost of land and the greater tolerance to the salinity of this vegetable. The objective of this work is to propose a fertilization program, for a cherry tomato crop in substrate that allows to obtain a sustainable crop. With this work, we hope that farmers increase the area cultivated in the valley of Lluta, in a sustainable way, taking into account the natural limitations due to the quality of the irrigation water. Fertigation management, considering irrigation water nutrients contents, is a key tool for horticultural sustainability. Balancing plant nutrition, based on crop requirements, it avoids the premature aging of the plant and maintains production of tomato crops.