Studies on Standardization of Growing Media and Growing Conditions for Nursery Production of Tomato

Abstract

The aim of the investigation was to standardize growing media and environmental conditions for optimal nursery production of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). The study was conducted at the Centre of Excellence, Mulugu, Siddipet district, Telangana during 2024 using a Factorial Randomized Block Design at the nursery stage. Treatments included five growing media i.e., cocopeat (100%), cocopeat + vermicompost (1:1), cocopeat + vermiculite + perlite (2:1:1), cocopeat + biochar (1:1) and cocopeat + biochar (2:1) combined with three environments: open field, polyhouse and shade net house. Methodology involved fifteen treatment combinations, each replicated thrice, with data collected on germination parameters and seedling growth metrics from five randomly selected plants per replication. Results revealed that the highest germination percentage (100%) was consistently obtained under polyhouse conditions across all media, with the earliest germination (7.00 days) in cocopeat + vermicompost (1:1) under polyhouse. Among seedling growth parameters, maximum stem diameter (1.96 mm) was recorded in cocopeat + biochar (1:1) under shade net, while the highest number of leaves (5.67), root length (10.15 cm) and leaf area (11.09 cm²) were observed in cocopeat + vermicompost (1:1) under polyhouse. Shoot length (6.27 cm) and seedling vigor index (1741.07) were also highest in cocopeat + vermicompost (1:1) under shade net. The root- to-shoot ratio attained its maximum value (0.47) in cocopeat + biochar (1:1) under polyhouse. Seedlings reached the transplanting stage earliest (30 DAS) under polyhouse across all media. It is therefore concluded that the combination of  cocopeat + vermicompost (1:1) under polyhouse conditions ensured rapid germination, early transplanting, and robust seedling growth in tomato, while shade net conditions supported greater vigour index and shoot elongation. This integrated approach highlights the superiority of enriched cocopeat-based media under controlled environments for successful nursery production of tomato.