## 2 Materials and Methods
### Agronomic Parameters Register  
The pH and Electric Conductivity (EC) in the substrate solution was measured weakly during the whole cropping season. The first measure was made 23 days after transplant (d.a.t). The nutritive solution was extracted with a syringe from the drainage system of substrate bags, to be analyzed later in laboratory facilities in the Experimental Center Tecnova. An Elmeco pH and EC meter (Leidschendam, the Netherlands) was the equipment used, with a resolution of 0.01 values for pH and 0.03 mS (20 \({}^{\circ}\)C) for EC.  
Crop yields and fruits quality was registered during the whole cropping season. Total yield and total marketable yield was calculated using four repetitions of 10 plants per shadow treatment (0%, 15%, 30% and 50%). Plants in each repetition were distributed in 2 crop rows of 5 plants in the central area of each treatment studied (Figure 5). Plants location was selected to get the maximum shade incidence taking into consideration the movement of sunrays over the cropping season (Figure 3). Plants were identified to increase the traceability of the treatments and repetitions.  
Weight and diameter of fruits were registered in all harvesting operations during the cropping season. Eight harvesting operations were made 113, 131, 141, 161, 181, 209, 222 and 239 days after transplant (d.a.t.). In the last harvesting operation (239 d.a.t), all the fruits (green and mature) were harvested. Fruits from all harvesting operations were marketed with the exception of those considered non-commercial because of size, damages in fruit or color. In the case of the last harvesting operation, some of the green fruits were maturated in conservation chambers.  
Harvested fruits from each repetition per treatment (10 plants per repetition and 40 plants per treatment) were stored for measurements and weight in codified plastic bags to assure the traceability of each treatment and repetition. Yields and the number of harvested fruits by repetition were determined in laboratory facilities in experimental center Tecnova, distinguishing among marketable and non-marketable fruits. The Radwag WLC30/F1/R (Radwag, Radom, Poland) scale model with 30 kg of maximum capacity and a 0.5 g precision was used for weight measurements. A sample of 18 fruits per repetition (72 fruits per treatment) was selected from marketable fruits to measure the fruit diameter with a Mitutoyo digital caliper (Mitutoyo Corporation, Japan).  
Quality fruit parameters were measured in a sample of marketable fruits (18 fruits per repetition) in some of the harvesting periods (113, 131, 161, 181, 209, 222 and d.a.t.). Evaluated parameters in each fruit were firmness, color, Total Soluble Solids (TSS) and pH of the fruit. These measurements were made in laboratory facilities in the headquarters of CT TECNOVA.  
Fruit firmness was measured with a Brookfield CT3 texture analyzer (Brookfield Engineering Laboratories, INC. Middleboro, Massachusetts, USA). Each fruit was compressed with a 4.5 mm probe, at a speed of 2 mm-s\({}^{-1}\), and the maximum force expressed in Newtons (N) was recorded.  
Total Soluble Solids (TSS) and pH of the fruit were measured taking the sample from the extracted juice of each fruit. TSS (\({}^{\circ}\)Brix) measurement was made with an ATAGO PAL-1 digital refractometer (ATAGO CO., LTD, Tokyo, Japan) with a 0.2\({}^{\circ}\) Brix resolution. The refractometer was periodically calibrated with 10% sucrose solution (Merck KGaA * 64,271 Darmstadt * Germany). The pH measurements were made with CRISON GLP22 pH equipment (CRISON INSTRUMENTS S.A., Alella, Barcelona, Spain).  
Color determination was made with a CIELAB system using Minolta CR-400 Chroma Meter (Konica Minolta Sensing Inc. Osaka, Japan) equipment. CIELAB system methodology allows us to represent any color with three coordinates L *, a * and b*. Luminosity (L*) goes from 0 (black) to 100 (white); the red-green axis is represented by a*, and the yellow-blue axis is represented by b*. The Arana equation was used to identify color intensity [38].