Effect of substrate media on tomato growth, yield, and economic viability in soilless cultivation

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted at the Precision Farming Development Centre (PFDC), Dr. RPCAU, Pusa, Bihar, to evaluate the effects of different soilless substrate media on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) growth, yield, and economic performance. The study was laid out in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three substrate treatments: M₁ (Cocopeat + Perlite + Vermicompost, 3:1:1 by weight), M₂ (Cocopeat + Perlite + Sand, 3:1:1), and M₃ (Cocopeat + Vermiculite + Perlite, 3:1:1). Seasonal crop water requirement was recorded as 15.90 cm. Among the tested media, M₁ significantly enhanced vegetative growth and yield attributes, achieving a maximum average plant height of 95.7 cm, fruit number of 48.1 per plant, average fruit weight of 77.9 g, and yield of 3.9 kg per plant, while the lowest yield (2.5 kg/plant) was observed in M₂. Economic analysis indicated that M₁ provided the highest benefit-cost (B:C) ratio of 2.55 and net return of Rs 169,936/-per 1000 m², whereas M₂ recorded the lowest B:C ratio of 1.79. These results demonstrate that the combination of Cocopeat + Perlite + Vermicompost is the most effective substrate medium for optimizing growth, yield, and profitability in soilless tomato cultivation under open-field conditions.