Ilić, Z.S., Faculty of Agriculture, University of Priština - Kos. Mitrovica, Lešak, Serbia
Milenković, L., Faculty of Agriculture, University of Priština - Kos. Mitrovica, Lešak, Serbia
Stanojević, L., Faculty of Technology, University of Niš, Leskovac, Serbia
Cvetković, D., Faculty of Technology, University of Niš, Leskovac, Serbia
Fallik, E., Volcani Center, Department of Postharvest Science of Fresh Produce, Israel

The photoselective netting concept was studied in a tomato 'Vedeta' cultivation in the south part of Serbia (Aleksinac) under high solar radiation, using four different colored shade-nets (pearl, red, blue and black) with different relative shading (40% and 50% PAR). Exposure to full sunlight was used as a control. Red and pearl nets with 40% shade significantly increased the total yield. Shading reduced the appearance of tomato cracking and eliminated sunscalds on tomato fruits and accordingly, increased the marketable tomato production by about 35% compared to non-shading conditions. Changing the light intensity by color shade nets affected the biosynthesis of lycopene and β-carotene in tomatoes. Thus, significantly higher lycopene content was observed in greenhouse tomato integrated with red shade netting technologies (64.9μgg-1) than in field-grown tomatoes (48.1μgg-1). By contrast, shaded fruits have lower content of β-carotene. The photo-selective, light-dispersive shade nets appear as interesting tools that can be further implemented within protected cultivation practices. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.