Open AccessResponse of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum MILL) to NPK Fertilizer Applied at Different Rates in Abeokuta
Author(s) -
A. M. Adaramoye,
G. O. Elumalero,
Ogunwole Joshua Olalekan,
M. O. Apenah,
O. O. Akinbile
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
badeggi journal of agricultural research and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2695-2122
pISSN - 2695-2114
DOI - 10.35849/bjare202204004
Subject(s) - lycopersicon , hectare , fertilizer , sowing , yield (engineering) , mathematics , horticulture , biology , agronomy , agriculture , ecology , materials science , metallurgy
Tomato is one of the most important vegetables grown for their edible fruits with abundant vitamins that are essential for human diet. The constraint posed by soils low fertility has been a major production challenge in the tropics. This limitation can be resolved by adequate fertilizer application which increases the yield of crops. Hence, this study sought to determine the influence of NPK 15:15:15 fertilizer rate on the growth and fruit yields of tomato. This study was established at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (7° 15' N and 3° 25' E). A variety of tomato (BESKE) was raised in the nursery for five weeks before being transplanted into 15 kg bag of sterile soil with NPK (15:15:15) applied at different rates (60, 90 and 120 kg N/ha; 400, 600 and 800 kg/ha) 3 weeks after planting. Data collected was on plant height, number of leaves/plant, number of branches/plant, number of flowers/plant, fruit yield/ha and average fruit weight per hectare (ha). The data collected were subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) using SAS edition 9.0 and significantly different means separated using LSD and Duncan multiple range test (DMRT) at a probability level of 5%. NPK 15:15:15 application at 60 kg N/ha is suitable for tomato (beske) production as it best influences the growth and yield parameters (fruit yield of 9.8 t/ha). A calibrated rate of 34.2 kg N/ha of NPK 15:15:15 with an estimated fruit yield of 11.2 t/ha is also recommended for further studies.