V. Kumari, A. Saikia, S. Gogoi, K. Das, S. Baishya, P. Boruah and K. Kujur
Abstract
A field experiment was conducted at the Experiment Farm, Department of Horticulture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat during the year 2022 to study the possibility of cultivating tomato on soilless growing media under a naturally ventilated polyhouse. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with 5 treatments and 4 replications. The treatments comprised of media containing cocopeat, vermiculite, perlite, sand and loam soil in various proportions. The study revealed that tomatoes were luxuriant on Loam soil: Sand: Vermicompost (1:1:1) medium with maximum crop duration (124.56 days), TSS (5.65°Brix) and minimum bacterial wilt infection (6.19 %) in the spent growing medium. Maximum ascorbic acid (40.07 mg/100g) was recorded by Cocopeat: Sand: Vermicompost (5:2:3) medium, whereas the maximum blossom end rot incidence (45 %) was recorded by Cocopeat: Vermiculite: Perlite (3:1:1). Shelf life (12 days) was maximum in Cocopeat: Vermicompost (1:1). The economic analysis indicated that is Loam soil: Sand: Vermicompost (1:1:1) gave a maximum benefit-cost ratio of 2.20. These findings suggest that Cocopeat: Sand: Vermicompost (5:2:3) medium may be the preferred choice for optimizing growth and yield, although Loam soil: Sand: Vermicompost (1:1:1) is economically advantageous.