Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Morphological and Physiological Response of Tomato to Sole and Combined Application of Vermicompost and Chemical Fertilizers

Muhammad Qasim
ORCID logo ,
Jing Ju
* ORCID logo ,
Hai Tao Zhao
,
Saleem Maseeh Bhatti
,
Gulnaz Saleem
,
Saima Parveen Memon
,
Shahzaib Ali
,
Muhammad Usama Younas
,
Nimra Rajput
,
Zameer Hussain Jamali
Version 1 : Received: 11 May 2023 / Approved: 11 May 2023 / Online: 11 May 2023 (08:42:18 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Qasim, M.; Ju, J.; Zhao, H.T.; Bhatti, S.M.; Saleem, G.; Memon, S.P.; Ali, S.; Younas, M.U.; Rajput, N.; Jamali, Z.H. Morphological and Physiological Response of Tomato to Sole and Combined Application of Vermicompost and Chemical Fertilizers. Agronomy 2023, 13, 1508. Qasim, M.; Ju, J.; Zhao, H.T.; Bhatti, S.M.; Saleem, G.; Memon, S.P.; Ali, S.; Younas, M.U.; Rajput, N.; Jamali, Z.H. Morphological and Physiological Response of Tomato to Sole and Combined Application of Vermicompost and Chemical Fertilizers. Agronomy 2023, 13, 1508.

Abstract

Chemical fertilizers are commonly used to meet the nutritional demands of the crops and boost their yield. However, their high costs and excessive application in soils increases the cost of production and have negative effects on the soil and environmental health. Vermicompost is an organic amendment that can potentially lessen the dependence on chemical fertilizers with additional advantages of sustainable nutrient supply to crops and maintaining soil health. To evaluate the potential of two diverse vermicomposts, sole and combined application of these vermicomposts with reduced rates of chemical fertilizers were used for tomato cultivation in a field study. The results indicated that vermicompost produced from cow dung combined with chemical fertilizers proved to be more effective in improving tomatoes' growth, physiology, yield and nutritional attributes. Combined application of vermicompost and chemical fertilizer significantly improved root length (21.6%), plant height (167%), SPAD value (13.5%),chlorophyll 'a' (96%), chlorophyll 'b' (161%), relative water content (16%), membrane stability index (18%), carotenoid (87%), yield (82%), photosynthetic rate (148%), and fruit diameter (83%) protein (89%), fat (27.5%), fiber (12%), vitamin C (52%), calcium (54%), magnesium (117%), phosphorus (38%), potassium (128%), as compared to control treatment (NP applied). In addition, significant improvements in different soil physico-chemical properties were also pragmatic. The results suggest that vermicompost application with reduced doses of chemical fertilizers can be used to improve crop yield and soil physico-chemical properties.

Keywords

tomato; vermicompost; inorganic fertilizer; nutrients availability; yield; soil health

Subject

Biology and Life Sciences, Agricultural Science and Agronomy

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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