Effect of Mixture of Nitrogen from Poultry Manure and Urea on Mineral Profile of Tomato Grown in KPK-Pakistan

ABSTRACT

Nitrogen has a role in plant mineral nutrition, and so a better way of supplying nitrogenous fertilizers is demanded to promote plant nutrition and clean environment. The present study was, therefore, designed to maintain plant mineral requirements and control environmental pollution. Tomato cultivars, that is, Falcon and Rio Grande, were supplied with a mixture of poultry manure (PM) and urea in various proportions in 2009 and 2010. All tested factors (N source, cultivar, and year) alone and in combination significantly (P ≤ 0.05) affected the mineral profile of tomato fruit. Treatment 75:25 resulted in highest uptake of calcium (Ca), iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), and copper (Cu) in cultivar Rio Grande during 2010. Similarly, highest concentration of boron (B) was recorded in Rio Grande fed with 50:50 of PM and urea, respectively. It was concluded that a combination of PM and urea in ratios of 75:25 and 50:50 performed well in achieving the optimal mineral contents in the tomato fruits.

KEYWORDS:

• Inorganic fertilizer
• minerals
• nitrogen
• OM
• PM
• tomato
• urea

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Higher Education Commission, Islamabad, Pakistan for financial support and Department of Horticulture, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar for facilitating the research work.

Funding

This work was supported by the Higher Education Commission, Pakistan [NA]; Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Higher Education Commission, Pakistan [NA]; Higher Education Commission (HEC) Pakistan.