Summary

	Three processes link total biomass production of a crop with its reproductive yield: generation of a canopy responsible of light interception efficiency (ei), summarized in the leaf area index (LAI); use of light in the photosynthetic process for carbon fixation and overall biomass production (RUE: radiation use efficiency); and partitioning of this biomass among different vegetative and harvestable reproductive organs (HI: harvest index). Experiments were developed for analyzing how nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) affect these processes along the cycle of a local Argentine variety of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) called Platense. The objectives were (i) to evaluate the effect of mineral nutrition on crop growth and development, (ii) to establish the incidence of these nutrients and the relative position of flower/fruit trusses within the plant on fruit set, and (iii) to develop morphometric, non-destructive predictive models for aspects considered in (i). Treatments affected crop growth rate (CGR) because of their effects of LAI generation and biomass production. Nitrogen deficiency did not affect RUE, and its high level for an off-season crop was accompanied by high leaf chlorophyll contents registered along the production period. The HI did not differ among treatments, but it tended to decrease when relative N content increase. The start of fruit harvest and mean fruit weight were similar for trusses 1 and 2. N offer affected the total amount of soluble solids, but no difference was detected in this trait among fruits from different trusses grown at a given N level. Allometric linear models were established for the estimation of leaf area, chlorophyll content, and fruit weight. These predictive, non-destructive models were used for a fast survey of growth and development variables along the cycle of Platense tomato plants.

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