Yield and Processing Quality of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) with Fertilizer Type

Abstract

Sustainable processing of tomato fruits depends on the availability of high yielding varieties, suitable for mechanical harvest and handling. Efforts in addressing the postharvest challenges of handling tomato fruits, have placed great emphasis on cultivating varieties with improved processing qualities. Field experiments were conducted in the early seasons of years 2014 and 2015, to examine the yield and processing qualities of tomato fruits as influenced by fertilizer type, using determinate and indeterminate varieties. The experiment was a Randomized Complete Block Design in a split-plot arrangement, replicated three times. Two tomato varieties (Roma VF and Beske) constituted the main plot while six fertilizer types (poultry manure, cow dung, NPK, poultry manure + NPK, cow dung + NPK and the control) constituted the sub-plot. The sub-plot size was 2.0 m x 3.0 m. Biochemical and proximate analyses were carried out on fruits from each treatment. Data collected on vegetative, reproductive and yield as well as the, proximate and biochemical properties were subjected to analysis of variance. Irrespective of the fertilizer type, tomato varieties differed in number of days to first and 50% flowering, days to maturity, number of fruits and fruit yield as well the processing parameters evaluated. These processing qualities are highly determined by the variety of tomato planted as well as fertilizers. Application of poultry manure (5 t/ha) + NPK 15:15:15 (150 kg/ha) enhanced high fruit TSS while sole poultry manure (10 t/ha) enhanced high lycopene content. It is concluded that the processing quality traits of tomato fruits would be mainly affected by the variety, thus it is established that Roma VF is a processing tomato variety. Beske is recommended for high fruit yield targeted at fresh market utilization, while Roma VF is recommended as a processing tomato variety.