Comparative Effect of Pig Manure and NPK Fertilizer on Agronomic Performance of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill)

Abstract

Field experiments were performed to investigate the effectiveness of pig manure (PG) used alone and combined with NPK fertilizer on nutrients composition, growth and yield of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). Treatments were replicated three times in a randomized complete block design and applied to tomato seedlings grown on beds at Oba-Ile and Iju in the rainforest zone of Southwest Nigeria Six treatments compared were: (a) the control, (b) 25t/ha pig manure, (c) 250kg/ha NPK (15:15:15) fertilizer, (d) 187kg/ha NPK + 6t/ha PG (75:25), (e) 125kg/ha NPK + 12t/ha PG (50:50) and (f) 62kg/ha NPK + 18t/ha PG (25:75) Soil and plant nutrients composition, growth parameters and fruit weight were determined. The test soils were sandy loam, low in organic matter and marginal in Nitrogen. Pig manure, NPK, used alone or combined at reduced rates significantly increased soil N, P, K, Ca, Mg, number of leaves, plant height, stem girth and fruit weight significantly. The 187kg.ha NPK + 6t/ha PG gave highest soil N, leaf N and fruit weight. Combinations of NPK and PG gave relatively high soil N, Ca and Mg and adequate concentrations of leaf N, P, K, Ca and Mg. Mean fruit weight per plant given by the control and 187kg/ha NPK + 6t/ha were 91 and 1016 gm respectively.