Abstract
Optimizing yield and nutrients content in crop production is the high time demand of arable farming. Vermicompost furnishes one of the most promising alternatives to costly chemical fertilizer. Therefore, a greenhouse experiment was conducted at NARC, Islamabad, to investigate the effect of different levels of vermicompost [having C/N=15/1 and 14 Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR)] on growth, yield and nutrients content in hybrid tomato (National Tunnel Tomato-04-08) under greenhouse conditions during Rabi 2015. The data revealed that different rates (0.5 t·ha-1, 1 t·ha-1, 1.5 t·ha-1 and 2 t·ha-1) of vermicompost produced varied and significant (P < 0.05) effect on the vegetative growth parameters (shoot length, root length, dry shoot weight and dry root weight), yield parameters (number of fruits per treatment and total yield) recorded at physiological maturity. Tomato fruit yield was the maximum (4.383 t·ha-1) at the application of 2.0 t vermicompost ha-1 followed by 3.226 t·ha-1 where vermicompost was applied @ 1.5 t·ha-1. N, P and K content in tomato fruit and plant increased significantly with the application of increasing levels of vermicompost. The highest content of N (3.7%), P (0.67%), K (5.17%) in tomato fruit and N (3.4%), P (0.32%), K (3.2%) in tomato plant respectively were registered with soil application of vermicompost @ 2.0 t·ha-1. This study confirms that the vermicompost has a tremendous potential of plant nutrients supply for sustainable crop production.
Highlights
Application of excessive chemical fertilizers may affect soil health and sustainable productivity
It is imperative to search for possible alternate organic manures that can sustain soil health and crop production
Organic manures contain plant nutrients in small quantities as compared with the chemical fertilizers, the presence of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) strains that plays an important role in increasing availability of nitrogen and phosphorus besides improving biological fixation of atmospheric nitrogen and enhancing phosphorus availability to crop [4] and growth promoting substances like enzymes and hormones, along with plant nutrients make them essential for improvement of soil fertility and productivity [5]
Summary
Application of excessive chemical fertilizers may affect soil health and sustainable productivity. Organic manures contain plant nutrients in small quantities as compared with the chemical fertilizers, the presence of PGPR strains that plays an important role in increasing availability of nitrogen and phosphorus besides improving biological fixation of atmospheric nitrogen and enhancing phosphorus availability to crop [4] and growth promoting substances like enzymes and hormones, along with plant nutrients make them essential for improvement of soil fertility and productivity [5]. Humus derived from vermicompost is most commonly used for sustainable production [3] due to its beneficial effects on nutrient uptake and retention, pest control and productivity [6]. The objective of the study was to optimize yield and nutrients content in tomato plant under greenhouse conditions through vermicompost application
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