V. Kumari, A. Saikia, S. Gogoi, U. Kotoky, K. Das, S. Baishya and P. Boruah
Abstract
In 2022, an experiment was conducted at the Experiment Farm, Department of Horticulture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, to explore tomato cultivation possibilities using soilless media in a naturally ventilated polyhouse. Employing a randomized block design with 5 treatments and 4 replications, various media compositions, including cocopeat, vermiculite, perlite, sand, and loam soil in different ratios, were tested. The study uncovered that optimal tomato growth occurred in Loam soil: Sand: Vermicompost (1:1:1), showing maximum plant height (140.68 cm), primary branches (6.19), plant fresh weight (177.90 g), fruit weight (70.80 gm), and a shorter time to flowering (42.5 days). This medium also resulted in higher residual N, P, K contents (2.58%, 2.51%, 2.64%, respectively) in the spent growing medium. Cocopeat: Sand: Vermicompost (5:2:3) yielded the highest plant dry weight (25.80 g), fruit set (48.24%), fruits/cluster (8.36), fruits/plant (71.74), yield/plant (4.88 kg), total yield (66.26 q/500sqm), and harvesting latitude (48.31 days). Meanwhile, Cocopeat: Vermiculite: Perlite (3:1:1) recorded the longest days to first harvest (83.75 days). Sand: Vermicompost (1:1) exhibited the highest chlorophyll content (2.50 mg/100g), and fruit volume (73.10 cc), while Cocopeat: Vermicompost (1:1) had the maximum flowers per cluster (3.91). Economically, the analysis favored Loam soil: Sand: Vermicompost (1:1:1) with a maximum benefit-cost ratio of 2.20. In conclusion, while Cocopeat: Sand: Vermicompost (5:2:3) seems optimal for growth and yield, the economic advantage lies with Loam soil: Sand: Vermicompost (1:1:1).