Effects of Organic Fertilizer Application on Tomato Yield and Quality: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Tomatoes are a globally cultivated and popular vegetable. The output and quality of tomatoes are significantly influenced by the use of organic fertilizers. It was discovered that organic fertilizers increase tomato productivity and improve fruit quality. The influence of organic fertilizers on tomato yield and quality is shown to be complex and dependent on soil organic matter, total soil nitrogen, organic fertilizers kinds, and other variables. In this review paper, we evaluated 769 data sets from 107 research papers and determined that organic fertilizers can enhance the tomato yield by 42.18%. Compared to the control group, soluble solids, soluble sugar, lycopene, vitamin C, and nitrate were raised by 11.86%, 42.18%, 23.95%, 18.97%, and 8.36%, respectively. In general, the soil organic matter >20 g·kg−1 and organic fertilizers significantly improved the tomato sugar/acid content ratio and VC, whereas under total soil nitrogen >1 g·kg−1, organic fertilizers had significant differences in tomato soluble solids, soluble sugar, lycopene, and vitamin C, with different organic-fertilizer types having different effects on tomato quality. When comparing animal and plant organic fertilizers to other forms of organic fertilizers, we observed that tomato quality varied significantly. We also evaluated the impact of different cultivation methods, soil organic matter, total soil nitrogen, soil pH, and types of organic fertilizers on the tomato yield and quality. The results gave valuable information and direction for the use of organic fertilizers in greenhouse production.