Effect of organic amendments and bio-fertilizers on growth and yield of tomato (Solanum lycopersicon L.)

An experiment was conducted at Research Farm of the Institute of Biotechnology and Environmental Science of Dr. Y.S. Parmar, University of Horticulture and Forestry, Neri, Hamirpur, India for two consecutive seasons (2012 and 2013) in order to find out the effect of organic manures and bio-fertilizers on various horticultural traits in tomato. Results revealed that non-significant effects regarding days to flowering, days to first picking and harvest duration were observed, while plant height, fruit weight, number of fruits plant⁻¹ and fruit yield were significantly affected. Maximum yield were observed with NPK application. Treatments T₈ (FYM + vermicompost + Azotobacter) and T₆ (Vermicompost + Azotobacter) were found effective in enhancing plant height, number of fruits cluster⁻¹, average fruit weight and yield plant⁻¹ during both the years of study. These two treatments were significantly superior to all other manurial and bio-fertilizer treatments and were comparable to control (NPK fertilization as per recommended practices).