Yield of hydroponically grown tomato (Solanum lycopersicon) as affected by different particle sizes of sawdust

Abstract

The particle size of a growing medium is one of the most important aspects in growing crops hydroponically. A study was conducted to determine the effect of particle size of sawdust as a substrate on tomato yield, in a non-temperature-controlled plastic tunnel. Tomato plants were grown using an open-bag hydroponic system for a duration of 110 d. The plants were subjected to six different particles sizes of sawdust viz. fine (800 µm), medium (1.4 mm) and coarse (3.4 mm) and at a ratio of 50:50 (v/v), i.e. coarse:fine (CF), coarse:medium (CM) and fine:medium (FM). Particle size of treatment CF and F improved total and marketable yield of tomato fruit compared with C, M, MF and CM. This may be due to the low air-filled porosity and improved water-holding capacity of CF and F. The study suggested that the most suitable particle size of sawdust in an open-bag hydroponic system for tomato production is CF or F. This finding contributes important knowledge to the hydroponic tomato-growing industry.

Keywords:

• air-filled porosity
• growing medium
• water-holding capacity