Analysis of Solanaceae species harvest-organ growth by linear increase in harvest index and harvest-organ growth rate

Crop growth simulation models have been mainly developed to simulate final yield reliably. Thus, a main challenge in these models is the definition of a stable method for expressing the growth of harvested organs (e.g., fruit, seed, tuber, etc.). Generally, two approaches have been used: growth rate analysis of harvested organs [yield growth rate (YGR)] and analysis of harvest index (HI) increase over time (dHI/dt). This work aims to: 1) examine whether YGR and dHI/dt increase linearly over much of growing period, and 2) compare the two growth indices in terms of stability across a number of treatments, in order to identify which is the best indicator of harvest-organ growth. This analysis has already been performed fora large number of field crops, including wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), soybean (Glycine max L. (Merr.) and pea (Pisum sativum L.), but it has never been attempted in crops where final yield is not simply seeds. In this study, YGR and dHI/dt performances for tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.), potato (Solanum tuberosum L.), and eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) were compared using 21, 18, and 4 datasets, respectively. Results indicated that both descriptors of harvest-organ growth increased linearly for most of the growth period, whilst the comparison among the two variables in terms of stability showed that, although a direct statistical test failed, dHI/dt was more suitable to describe harvest-organ growth (smaller coefficient of variability) under a large range of crop management conditions (e.g., irrigation, sowing date, planting density, and water salt concentration).