Evaluation of Hydroponic Systems for Optimizing Growth and Yield of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)

Abstract

An investigation was performed to identify the best hydroponic system suitable for tomato cultivation at the College of Agriculture, Vellayani during February 2022-June 2022. The present study was laid out in completely randomized design (CRD) with seven treatments and three replications. The study included the comparison of six different systems of hydroponics viz., nutrient film technique (NFT), deep flow technique (DFT), ebb and flow system, deep water culture (DWC), drip system and wick system along with soil cultivation as control. Growth attributes such as number of branches and stem girth, recorded during 20 days after transplanting (DAT), 40 DAT, 60 DAT, and at the harvest stage, were found to be significantly higher in the ebb and flow system (T3). Furthermore, the ebb and flow system (T3) outperformed all other treatments, producing greater fruit length and diameter, the highest fruit weight (46.85 g) and yield (2.10 kg/plant), while the control (T7) had the lowest yield (0.99 kg/plant). T3 also recorded the highest values of root volume (39.10 cm3) and root weight (28.67 g) at the harvest stage of the crop. Among the different methods of hydroponics, ebb and flow system was identified as the best method of hydroponics for tomato cultivation based on its growth, yield and root parameters.