Performance of Different Tomato Genotypes in the Arid Tropics of Sudan during the Summer Season. I. Vegetative Growth

Selected, eleven tomato genotypes of diverse origin were grown in a glasshouse of the Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany during 2002 and under field conditions in Shambat, University of Khartoum, Sudan for two successive seasons (2002/2003, 2003/2004). High temperatures under field conditions resulted in poor stand and stunted growth of tomato plants. Highly significant differences were encountered among the different genotypes for leaf area, leaf area ratio, leaf weight ratio, stem fresh and dry weight and leaf fresh and dry weight. Based on results obtained from this study, the genotype 'Summerset' proved to be more tolerant under high temperature conditions in comparison to other investigated genotypes and may be useful for exploitation under arid tropical region of Sudan.