Comparative study on the growth and yield performance of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum var. Diamante max) plant fertilized with organic and inorganic fertilizer contaminated with cadmium (Cd) [manuscript]
Date
2019
Authors
Jonas O. Cail
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Abstract
In the growth of tomato, fertilizers are needed to serve as supplement for its growth and development. Chemical fertilizers are made from any inorganic material of synthetic origin. Farmers may use either chemical or organic fertilizers depending on their preference. This study aimed to compare the growth and yield performance of tomato fertilized by inorganic and organic fertilizers. It also determined their agronomic characteristics, as relate to environmental parameter.
The study used tomato for comparison because it grows easily, less expensive, adapted to well-drained soils that have good air and water infiltration rates and the availability of its seedlings in the market. Moreover, tomato is the most popular home garden and the third most consumed crop in the world. In current study, tomato seedlings were subjected to two fertilizers treatment with three replicates. Treatment I utilized inorganic fertilizer, while treatment II an organic fertilizer was applied, growth related parameter namely: the plant height, size of fruits, weight of fruits, and number of marketable and non-marketable fruits, growth and yield performance were compared using t-test.
Results disclosed that in terms of yield, plant height, size of fruits, weight of fruits and number of marketable fruits. Treatment I (inorganic) has a better results compared to Treatment II (organic). The study revealed that treatment II resulted better to a lesser number of days to flower, days to fruits and roots system. High temperature, low humidity, pH and precipitation can affect the growth of tomato because it produce low yield of crops.