| Summary: | The aim of this research was to assess the effect of both the salinity level and the type of growing system on the vegetative health of a tomato crop (<i>Solanum lycopersicum</i>). The study was carried out in Almería (Spain) in a local typical greenhouse. Two different growing media were tested: (i) the artificial soil “<i>enarenado</i>” and (ii) a coconut fiber substrate. Each of these growing media was irrigated with water with three different saline concentrations: (i) T1 with an electrical conductivity of 0.6 dS/m, (ii) T2 with 1.5 dS/m, and (iii) T3 with 3.0 dS/m. Using the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO) regulations, two diseases were identified: (i) powdery mildew (<i>Leveillula taurica</i>) with a lower disease incidence in tomato plants grown in soil and in plants irrigated with decreasing salinity treatments and (ii) crown and root rot in tomato (<i>Fusarium</i> f. sp. <i>radicis-lycopersici</i>) with a lower incidence in tomato plants grown in soil and a higher incidence in tomato plants grown in coconut substrate. A higher yield was observed in tomato plants transplanted in <i>enarenado</i> than in coconut substrate, although a higher level of Brix degrees was observed in the crops with higher disease severity and salinity stress.
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