EFFECT OF SOME SOIL AMENDMENTS ON GROWTH, YIELD AND QUALITY OF TOMATO PLANTS (LYCOPERSICON ESCULENTUM MILL.) CULTIVATED UNDER SALINITY CONDITIONS | ||||
| Journal of Plant Production | ||||
| Article 7, Volume 4, Issue 9, September 2013, Page 1383-1397 PDF (986 K) | ||||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/jpp.2013.74162 | ||||
 View on SCiNiTO | ||||
| Authors | ||||
| A. M. Kamal1; M. M. El-Shazly2 | ||||
| 1Veget. Res. Dept., Hort. Res. Inst., Agric. Res. Center, Giza, Egypt | ||||
| 2Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition Dep., Soil, Water and Environment Res. Inst., Agric. Res. Center, Giza, Egypt | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| Two field experiments were conducted at Kalabsho region, El-Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt, during 2010 and 2011 seasons to evaluate the effect of some soil amendments, i.e., agricultural gypsum, rice straw mulching and cyanobacteria inoculation as well as their combinations on growth, chemical composition, yield and fruit quality of tomato plants (Fiona F1 hybrid) cultivated under salinity conditions in northern of the Nile Delta. The obtained results confirm that the combined addition of agricultural gypsum (applied according to the gypsum requirements at 4.34 ton fed-1) + rice straw mulching (12 ton fed-1) + inoculation of tomato seedlings before transplanting with cyanobacteria (2 liter fed-1) had the highest significant vegetative growth characteristics (number of branches, relative growth rate and net assimilation rate) and chemical composition (N, P, K, Ca and K+/Na+ ratio as well as total chlorophyll contents) in tomato plant foliage. This treatment also had the significant increases in fruit setting percentage and marketable yield as well as the highest significant values of fruit quality characteristics (vitamin C, TSS and lycopene content) with the lowest nitrite accumulation comparing with the untreated plants (control), which had the minimum quality aspects of tomato fruits in both seasons. Such treatment is found to be economically and more agronomically feasible. It showed the highest net return and returned the highest benefit-cost ratio (1.87) in comparison with the other treatments. In conclusion, this investigation demonstrates that the combined application of agricultural gypsum (4.34 ton fed-1) + rice straw mulching (12 ton fed-1) + inoculation of tomato seedlings before transplanting with cyanobacteria could be recommended to improve the vegetative growth characteristics, chemical composition, marketable yield and fruit quality. It proved to be the economical for tomato production under salinity conditions to ensure the optimum and the satisfactory utilization of the new reclaimed land. | ||||
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