YIELD AND QUALITY OF TOMATO (Solanum lycopersicum L.) WITH INDIVIDUAL AND INTEGRATED APPLICATION OF INORGANIC POTASSIUM, POTASSIUM HUMATE AND TRIACONTANOL
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Date
2012
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ACHARYA N. G. RANGA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY
Abstract
A field experiment was conducted during kharif, 2011 on sandy clay soil to study
the effect of individual and integrated use of inorganic potassium, potassium humate and
triacontanol on yield and quality of tomato with the title “Yield and quality of tomato
(Solanum lycopersicum L.) with individual and integrated application of inorganic
potassium, potassium humate and triacontanol”. The experiment was conducted in
randomized block design with sixteen treatments replicated thrice. The treatments included
the individual application of inorganic K at 30, 45, and 60 kg K2O ha-1 level and their
integration with either potassium humate or triacontanol or both (12 no’) besides the
individual application of potassium humate, triacontanol and inorganic K at 90 kg K2O ha-1
(3 no’) and a treatment comprising the combination of triacontanol and potassium humate
(1 no’). The effect of different treatments was evaluated in terms of dry matter production,
chlorophyll and carotenoid contents at flowering and yield at harvest. Plant samples were
analyzed for their per cent nutrient composition with respect to N, P and K at flowering
and at harvest. The uptake of nutrients was computed. The fresh fruit samples were
analysed for quality parameters. Soil nutrient status with regard to available N, P and K
were studied at flowering and at harvest of tomato crop.
The soil under study was sandy clay in texture, slightly alkaline and normal in salt
content with a CEC of 35.8 c mol (p+) kg-1. The soil was medium in organic carbon
(0.67%), low in available nitrogen (156.7 kg N ha-1), high in available phosphorus (57.0 kg
ha-1) and potassium (449.0 kg ha-1).
Among the treatments, T4 receiving 60 kg K2O ha-1 along with foliar application of
potassium humate and triacontanol showed significantly higher dry matter production of
30.79 q ha-1 which was 29 % more when compared to control receiving recommended dose
of 60 kg K2O ha-1. However, this was on par with the dry matter produced by integrated
application of potassium humate and triacontanol along with a lower dose of 45 kg K2O ha-
1.
The yield of tomato varied from 102.7 to 135.0 q ha-1. The treatment receiving 60
kg K2O ha-1 along with foliar application of potassium humate and triacontanol recorded
the highest fruit yield of 135.0 q ha-1 which was 18 % more than recommended dose of K.
The quality parameters viz., ascorbic acid, lycopene content and TSS were found
significantly higher in T4 with the corresponding values of 4.27 and 33.1 mg 100 g-1 and
3.33 Brix %. On the contrary the titratable acidity gradually decreased with increasing
levels of inorganic K application having a significantly higher value of 0.68 per cent with
30 kg K2O ha-1. The N, P and K content and uptake by the crop were found to be
significantly influenced by the treatment T4 which was significantly superior to the
recommended dose of K.
There was greater reduction in the available N and P content of the soil in T4 at both
the stages. Available K content of the soil got depleted from the initial value of 449 kg ha-1
in all the treatments. The depletion was higher i.e., 10 per cent with the application of
triacontanol alone and got reduced to 2 per cent inT4.
Thus by virtue of the above facts, the treatment T4 is found to be the best in effective
utilization of the nutrients resulting in improved fruit yield, quality and returns of the crop
(high benefit – cost ratio) besides maintaining the available K status.
Description
Keywords
potassium, foliar application, vegetables, fruits, yields, acidity, developmental stages, harvesting, nutrients, planting, TOMATO, Solanum lycopersicum L., INORGANIC POTASSIUM, POTASSIUM HUMATE, TRIACONTANOL