The Best Source of Compost for Tomato Production: A Study of Tomato Production in Niger State, Nigeria (Published)
This study investigated effects of source of compost manure – avian waste (poultry dropping), animal waste (horse droppings), agricultural waste and NPK fertilizer on soil nutrients, growth and yield parameters of two varieties of tomato (IFE-1 and UC-82B). The treatments applied to the soil were 800g of each compost and NPK 15-15-15 fertilizer to 1.8kg of soil in each pot stand. The chemical composition of the compost used was analyzed before addition to the soil. The soil was slightly acidic and marginal in organic matter (OM) and available P. The compost manure treatments increased soil N, P, K, Ca, Mg and pH. Growth and yield parameters such as plant height, number of branches, fruit circumference, fruit weight and number of fruits were significantly (p˃0.05) increased by the various compost treatments used. The growth and yield parameters of the fruits increased compared to where only NPK fertilizer was used.
Keywords: Compost Manure, Garandiforme Tomato And Validum Tomato, Organic Matter