Agricultural wastes and mineral fertilizer on soil and plant nutrient status, growth and yield of tomato

Abstract

A field experiment was carried out to evaluate the effects of different treatments on soil and plant nutrient status, growth and yield of tomato and soil health. The experiment used 3 × 3 factorial combinations of livestock manure, plant residues and organic fertilizer applied at zero, 70 and 100% of recommended rates in combination with 30% of the recommended rate of N (using urea). The application of organic waste alone and in combination with urea enhanced root and shoot biomass, leaf area development, yield and fruit concentrations of N and . The treatments affected indices of nutrient usage efficiency (NUE): agronomic efficiency (AEN), partial factor productivity (PFP), physiological efficiency of N use (PE) and N recovery efficiency (RE). Over the control, application of organic waste materials alone and in combination with reduced rate of mineral N enhanced soil quality indicators: organic carbon, net N mineralization and microbial biomass pool (microbial biomass C).

Keywords:

• fruit yield
• nutrient cycling
• nutrition
• tomato
• tropics