1Department of Soil Science, School of Agricultural Sciences, Shri Guru Ram Rai University, Dehradun-248 001, Uttarakhand, India
2Department of Horticulture, School of Agricultural Sciences, Shri Guru Ram Rai University, Dehradun-248 001, Uttarakhand, India
3Graphic Era Hill University, Dehradun-248 001, Uttarakhand, India
4Department of Crop Science, College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Fiji National University, Koronivia Campus, Nausori-1544, FIJI
5Department of Soil Science and Biosystems Engenneering, College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Fiji National University, Koronivia Campus, Nausori-1544, FIJI
*Corresponding Author: Suneeta Singh, Department of Horticulture, School of Agricultural Sciences, Shri Guru Ram Rai University, Dehradun-248 001, Uttarakhand, India, Email: drsuneetaksaxena@gmail.com
An experiment was performed during the summer season of 2023 and 2024 at School of Agricultural Sciences, Shri Guru Ram Rai University, Pathribagh, Dehradun, Uttarakhand under low hills of northern Himalaya, to study the influence of vermicompost and fertilizers on soil properties, fruit yield, economics, energetics of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.).
The experimental trial was executed inside an 1800 m2 open ventilated polyhouse. The transplanting of tomato was done in the first week of March in both years. The experiment was carried out in split-plot design with 3 levels of each vermicompost (0, 2.5 and 5 tonnes/ha) in the main plots and inorganic fertilizers (50, 75 and 100 % of recommended dose) in subplots, having 3 replications.
Application of vermicompost at the highest rate (5 t ha-1) produced a markedly greater fruit yield (34.8 t ha-1) compared to both the lower dose (2.5 t ha-1) and the control treatment without vermicompost, consistently across both years of study. Similarly, the full recommended dose of chemical fertilizers (100:25.8:52.1 kg N, P and K ha-1) resulted in significantly superior yield performance relative to the 50% and 75% application levels. Both organic and inorganic nutrient sources exerted a statistically significant influence on key growth and yield parameters including plant height, number of fruits per plant, fruit size (length and diameter) and average fruit weight. Economic evaluation indicated that the highest net monetary returns were obtained with the application of 5 t ha-1 vermicompost (` 2,15,600 ha-1) and the full recommended NPK dose (` 2,22,200 ha-1). In addition, energy based indices such as net energy output, energy use efficiency and energy productivity were also maximized under these treatment combinations. Soil fertility status, particularly the availability of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, showed a significant improvement under the highest level of vermicompost and the complete recommended fertilizer dose when compared to other treatments.
Economics, Inorganic nutrients, Open ventilated polyhouse, Soil properties, Tomato, Vermicompost
