Ratna Saha
Department of Horticulture, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202, Bangladesh
Md. Harun Ar Rashid
Department of Horticulture, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202, Bangladesh
Cherry tomato, Organic manures, Growth, Yield, Quality
The Horticulture Farm and Postgraduate Laboratory of the Department of Horticulture, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh
Variety and Species
Tomato, Manures
Experimental site and materials: The experiment was executed at the Horticulture Farm and Postgraduate Laboratory of the Department of Horticulture, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh to evaluate the effects of variety and organic manures on the growth, yield and quality of cherry tomato during the period from September 2019 to March 2020. The experimental site was medium high land belonging to the Old Brahmaputra Floodplain under the Agro-Ecological Zone 9 having non-calcareous dark gray floodplain soil (UNDP and FAO 1988). The soil of the experimental plot was silty loam in texture and neutral (pH 7.0) in reaction, which is suitable for cherry tomato production. Plant materials: Binatomato-10 and BARI Tomato-11 (Jhumka) were used in this study. These two varieties are recommended as cherry tomatoes in Bangladesh. Seeds of these varieties were collected from Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA), Mymensingh, and Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Joydebpur, Gazipur. Experimental design and treatments: The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications and altogether 16 treatment combinations. The treatments were designed in a factorial arrangement of 2 × 8, along with two cherry tomato varieties viz. V1-Binatomato-10, V2- BARI Tomato 11 and eight organic manure treatments viz., T0 = control (no organic manures applied), T1 = cowdung @ 3 kg/m2, T2 = mustard oilcake (MOC) @ 0.6 kg/m2, T3 = poultry manure @ 3 kg/m2, T4 = cowdung + MOC @ (3 + 0.6) kg/m2, T5 = cowdung + poultry manure @ (3+3) kg/m2, T6= MOC + poultry manure @ (0.6 + 3) kg/m2, T7 = cowdung + MOC + poultry manure @ (3+ 0.6 + 3) kg/m2. Construction of vertical staking and application of the treatments: Cherry tomato seedlings were raised in two separate seedbeds of 1 m × 1 m size. One gram seed of each variety was sown on separate seedbeds on 21 September 2019 and after sowing, seeds were covered with light soil. The emergence of seedlings took place within 5 to 6 days after sowing. The healthy seedlings of uniform size were transplanted on 22 October 2019 in the evening at a spacing of 50 cm × 30 cm. Each unit plot was 1.25 m x 1.0 m in size, which consisted of 6 plants. The spacing between plots and blocks was 50 cm and 100 cm, respectively. Organic manure treatments were applied to different unit plots at 21 days before planting of seedlings and incorporated into the soil carefully. After transplantation, irrigation, weeding and staking were done as and when necessary. After 15 days of transplanting when the plants were well established vertical staking was provided using bamboo sticks to keep the plants erect and around 1.5 m high trellis type vertical staking were constructed in each plot for proper growth and fruiting of cherry tomatoes. Data collection: Data were recorded from one week after transplanting of seedlings up to the harvesting of fruits from all six plants of each plot under each treatment and replications on the parameters viz., plant height (cm), number of leaves per plant, days of first flowering, number of flower cluster per plant, number of flowers per plant and yield and quality parameters viz., number of fruits per plant, individual fruit weight (g), length and breadth of fruit (cm), fruit yield (t/ha), and TSS content (% brix). Plant height was measured from each sample plant in cm from the ground level to the tip of the longest stem by using meter scale and the mean was calculated. The number of leaves per plant was recorded by counting all leaves from each plant and the mean was calculated. The date of first flowering was recorded, and the number of days required for first flowering was calculated. The number of flower clusters was counted from the plants periodically, and an average number of flower clusters produced per plant was recorded. A total number of flowers was counted from the plants and then recorded until the last flowering. The number of fruit per plant was counted from each plant periodically, the number of fruit produced per plant was recorded. Fruit length and diameter were measured using Slide Caliper. The mean was calculated for each treatment. Fruit weight was measured by a Table Top Electric Balance (BP 2100, Sartorius, Germany) and expressed in gram (g). The total weight of fruit per plant was calculated by adding the weight of all the fruits collected from each plant after final harvest and then fruit yield per plant was recorded in kg. Fruit yield of tomato per plant was converted into fruit yield in a ton (t) per hectare. Fruit yield (t/ha) = Fruit yield per plant (kg) × total number of plants of 1 ha land/1000.Total soluble solids (TSS) content of cherry tomato was determined from fruit juice by using a hand refractometer (Model N-1 α, Atago, Japan). Before measurement, the refractometer was calibrated with distilled water. One or two drops of the filtrate were placed on the prism of the refractometer to obtain the % TSS reading. The reading was multiplied by the dilution factor to obtain an original % TSS of the pulp tissues. Since differences in sample temperature could affect the TSS measurement, temperature corrections were made by using the methods described by Ranganna (1994). Statistical analysis: The collected data on various parameters were analyzed statistically using MSTAT computer program. The significance of the difference between pair of means was tested by the least significant differences (LSD) test at a 1% level of probability (Gomez and Gomez, 1984).
J Bangladesh Agril Univ 18(4): 982–992, 2020 ISSN 1810-3030 (Print) 2408-8684 (Online)
Journal