EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT GROWTH MEDIA ON THE GROWTH AND YIELD OF TOMATOES (LYCOPERSICON ESCULENTUM L)

Abstract

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L) belongs to the family of Solanaceae and it is a popular cultivated vegetable in the world and is famous for its nutritive and medicinal value. Soil is the conventional medium for crop growth, however, soil pose serious limitations to Tomato plant growth such as unsuitable Temperature reactions, un-favourable soil poor drainage and degradation as well as pest and diseases causing organisms. The objective of the study was to determine the effects of different growing media on the growth and yield of Tomatoes. The experiment was laid out in a Complete Randomized Design (CRD). The four growing media used were Cocoa peat, Rice husk, Sawdust and Soil. The growth media were placed in different polythene bags. The tomato seeds were then planted on the different growth media, using four treatments and four replicates. The parameters and data collected in the experiment are; Plant height, Number of leaves, Number of branches, Stem girth, Days to 50% flowering, Number of fruits per plant, Length of fruit. All data generated were statistically analyzed. The results of this study revealed that different growth media responded differently when grown in different growing media. The results showed that there were significant (P < 0.05) differences in the growth and yield of tomato among the different tomato plants grown in the different media. From the result obtained, the tallest plant height (38.75) and the highest number of leaves (68.75) was attained in Soil respectively, followed by Coco peat (43.00) which had the second highest number of leaves while the shortest plant height (23.15) and the lowest number of leaves (36.25) was recorded in Rice husk. The highest number of branches (18.50) was obtained by coco peat while the lowest number of branches (18.50) was obtained in Rice husk. The highest stem girth (18.50) was obtained in plants grown in Coco peat. The fastest to attain 50% flowering (60.25) was observed in Soil while the least to attain 50% flowering (21.00) was observed in Rice husk. The media with the highest number of fruit (7.25) and length of fruit (3.57) was attained in Soil respectively. Therefore, for effective use and better growth performance and yield of Tomato, it is recommended that Soil is most appropriate for optimum growth and yield without any deleterious effect.

Keywords: Tomato, Growth Media, Quality, Yield