Abstract
Having substantial and working knowledge on phosphorus fertilization is a pre-requisite to profitable tomato production. Thus, the present research was conducted to determine the optimum phosphorus (P) fertilizer rate for better fruit yield of tomato in Ilorin, a location in the Southern Guinea savannah zone of Nigeria. Five levels of phosphorus (0, 30, 60, 90 and120kgP/ha) were tested on UC82B tomato variety. The experiment waslaid out in a randomized complete block design with 3 replications. Data were collected on plant height, number of leaves, leaf area and number of branches at different growth stages while data on fruit yield as well as its components were collected at harvest. Results showed that application of 30kgP/ha produced plants with the highest leaf area. The control and 30kgP/ha produced the highest number of leaves. Application of 90kgP/ha and 120kgP/ha resulted in production of highest number of fruits while application of 90kgP/ha alone resulted in production of the tallest plants, highest number of branches and highest fruit yield. The yield was 66% better than the control. It was, therefore, concluded that 90kgP/ha should be used for optimum tomato fruit production in the agro-ecological zone of the research and places with the same climatic and edaphic conditions.
 Keywords: Phosphorus fertilization, tomato, growth improvement and fruit yield
Highlights
It has been established that when there is optimum P, much of energy required for plant metabolism which is stored chemically in the form of complex organic phosphates and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) will be made available and released as required
It could be due to variations in plant vigour and senescence of leaf caused by low water intake by plants and high temperature
It has been established that when development is depressed by adverse factors such as water deficiency or soil temperature, growth and development might not occur (Alonso-Blanco et al, 2009)
Summary
It has been established that when there is optimum P, much of energy required for plant metabolism which is stored chemically in the form of complex organic phosphates and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) will be made available and released as required. Despite the fact that phosphorus encourages root development and provides energy by forming ATP (Shaheen et al, 2007), there is dearth of research on influence of phosphorus nutrition on tomato growth and fruit yield in the Southern Guinea savannah zone of Nigeria. It becomes a necessity to identify appropriate phosphorus rate for specific soil types, cultivars, regions and locations. The present research was conducted to determine optimum phosphorus (P) fertilizer rate for optimum growth and fruit yield of tomato in Ilorin, a location in the Southern Guinea savannah zone of Nigeria
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