Effect of Different Organic Fertilizer Application Rates on Yield and Yield Attributes of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum)| Chapter 03 | New Perspectives in Agriculture and Crop Science Vol. 1
A field experiment was conducted at the
Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN) to investigate
the effects of organic fertilizer on growth and yield tomato from October 2014
to March 2015. The experiment was laid out in a randomised complete block
design (RCBD) with four treatments being varying levels of organic fertilizer;
0 kg m-2, 5 kg m-2, 7.5 kg m-2 and 10 kg m-2 each replicated three times. The
yield attributes measured were plant height, stem thickness, canopy diameter,
number of leaves, fruits and fruit weight. Organic fertilizer application rates
of 7.5 and 10 kg m−2 revealed significantly (p<0.05) taller plants compared
to other treatments. A highly significant difference in plant canopy was
observed across the four fertilizer application rates. Higher fertilizer
application rate of 10 kg m-2outperformed the rest of the treatments. A highly
significant treatment effect was observed on leaf number of plants in the 10 kg
m-2 application rate. The same trend was observed for stem thickness with the
10 kg m−2 application rate. A linear relationship (R2 = 0.9655) between number
of fruits and fruits weight was revealed. Number of fruits and fruits weight
increased with increasing organic fertilizer application rates. The 10 kg m-2 fertilizer
application rate outperformed the rates for most measured parameters. Results
of the study demonstrate that the use of organic fertilizer would help
small-scale vegetable growers to maintain the long-term soil productivity for
sustainable tomato cultivation since it is affordable and abundant in Botswana.
Author(s) Details
Witness
Mojeremane
Department
of Range and Forest Resources, Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, Gaborone, Botswana
Thembinkosi
Mathowa
Department
of Crop and Soil Sciences, Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, Gaborone, Botswana.
Ofentse
Moseki
Department
of Crop and Soil Sciences, Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, Gaborone, Botswana.
Gabatshele
M. Legwaila
Department
of Crop and Soil Sciences, Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, Gaborone, Botswana.
Sifanele
Machacha
Department
of Crop and Soil Sciences, Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural
Resources, Gaborone, Botswana.
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