EFFECT OF VERMICOMPOST AND INORGANIC FERTILIZER ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF TOMATO

Abstract

The experiment was conducted at the experimental field of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University during the period from December 2020 to April 2021 under AEZ 28 (Madhupur tract), for assessing the effect of different vermicompost and inorganic fertilizers doses on growth and yield of tomato. The experiment comprised of single factor comprising eight treatments viz. T 1 = N 140 P 45 K 60 Zn 2.0 B 1.0 kg ha -1 + No organic kg ha -1 , T 2

Zn 1.5 , T 4 B 1.0 = N 80 kg ha P 30 -1 + 1350 kg VC ha K 45 Zn 1.0 B 1.0 kg ha -1 -1 , T 3 = N 100 P 35 + 4050 kg VC ha K 50 -1 Zn 1.5 , T 5 B 1.0 = N 60 kg ha P 25 -1 K 40 = N 120 P 40 + 2700 kg VC ha Zn 1.0 + 5400 kg VC ha -1 , T 6 = N 40 P 20 K 35 Zn 1.0 B 1.0 kg ha -1 + 6750 kg VC ha -1 , T 7 = Full VC 9350 kg ha -1 . This experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three (3) replications. Data were collected on different aspects of growth, yield attributes, yield and harvest index of tomato including soil properties and nutrient contents. The results revealed that treatment T 3 [N 100 P 35 K 50 Zn 1.5 B 1.0 kg ha -1 B 1.0 K 55 kg ha + 2700 kg VC ha ] exhibited its superiority compare to other inorganic fertilizer with different doses of vermicompost treatments in terms of fruit yield of tomato. Treatment T 3 also showed the longest plant (126.00 cm), maximum number of leaves plant -1 (90.30), highest number of branches plant -1 (6.89), highest number of flower clusters plant -1 (19.24), maximum number of flowers cluster -1 (6.67), highest number of fruits plant -1 (31.77), maximum fruit weight (48.29 g), maximum yield of fruit plot -1 (37.23 kg), highest yield (60.86 t ha ) than other treatments in this experiment. On the other hand, the treatment T 7 [full dose VC] returned with 67.37% lower yield than treatment T 3 which was significantly the lowest compared with other treatments under study. In case of soil properties, the highest soil organic matter (0.85%) and the maximum soil pH (6.21) was recorded from treatment T 3

in post-harvest soil. Considering the soil nutrients, the highest available P content in soil (23.0 ppm) and the maximum potassium content in soil (0.129 meq. /100 g soil) was recorded from the treatment T 2 receiving chemical fertilizer. Vermicompost (VC 2700 kg ha -1 ) + (N 100 P 35 K 50 Zn 1.5 B 1.0 kg ha -1 ) application seemed promising for producing higher fruit yield of tomato and maintaining soil productivity.