Application ZnSO4 on tomato growth under drought stress conditions

Abstract

An alternative that can be used to reduce the impact of drought stress is the addition of micro-nutrients, one of which is Zn. Zn application on several plants has been done and showed an increase in the ability of plants to deal with drought stress. However, the application of Zn in drought tomatoes has not been well investigated. Therefore, the research aims to study the application of ZnSO4 on root and shoot growth of drought tomatoes. The study used two factors, namely cultivar (‘Tyrana F1’ and ‘Permata F1’) and ZnSO4 doses (0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 mg Zn kg-1 soil). The treatments were arranged in factorial based randomized complete block design. Drought conditions are applied by watering through once every eight days. The results showed a different response in a total root length in both cultivars within the ZnSO4 application. ZnSO4 application increased root dry weight; however, there is a no different response in the shoot growth of tomato under drought stress. Root dry weight increased 36.8-62.5% on application 20-40 mg kg-1 ZnSO4 under drought condition.