Impact of organo-mineral fertilizers in enhancing nutrient accumulation and uptake by tomato under urban horticulture

Abstract

A pilot experiment was conducted to assess the effectiveness of two organo-mineral fertilizer types viz., potting mixtures and nutrient supplement (NS) cakes on enhancing nutrient content and uptake by tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) cultivated in urban horticultural environment. The farm yard manure or potting mixture was used as growing medium and nutrient supplements cakes were applied at 100% and 75% of the recommended dose of phosphorus. The experiment included three factors with two levels each resulting in eight treatments, replicated thrice, to assess their influence on tomato nutrient content and uptake. The results revealed that the application of organo-mineral fertilizers significantly improved tomato nutrient composition. The treatment which received Soil+ OMF+ 100% RDP through NS1 cake recorded the highest enhancement in total primary and secondary nutrient uptake i.e., nitrogen (7.24 g plant-1), phosphorus (1.67 g plant-1) potassium (7.99 g plant-1), calcium (3.21 g plant-1), magnesium (1.36 g plant-1), sulphur (1.69 g plant-1). In terms of total micronutrient uptake also, the same treatment which received Soil+ OMF+ 100% RDP through NS1 cake showed superior outcomes with increased uptake of iron (32.89 mg plant-1), manganese (28.01 mg plant-1), copper (5.13 mg plant1), zinc (16.37 mg plant-1) and boron (8.09 mg plant-1).