Bio-Compost as a Soil Supplement to Improve Growth and Yield of Tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum)

Abstract

Tomato is one of the most important fruit crops in the world which is consumed in a variety of ways. The high cost of chemical fertilizers has led to some farmers turning to alternative methods of production, such as the use of bio-fertilizers. Most organic waste may be changed into fertilizer at a low cost of production. The objectives of this study were to determine: 1) the effect of the application of bio-compost on growth, yield, and quality of tomato; 2) to determine the effects of different bio-compost applications on growth, yield and quality of tomato. The field was marked out into eight blocks. It consisted of four treatments with two replications per treatment. The bio-fertilizer was applied to plots and in-corporated into the soil. This study showed that the application of bio-fertilizers made from food waste only, cow dung only, and food waste and cow dung improved plant growth, number of leaves, plant height and fruit yield. However, the differences were not statistically significant except for the number of leaves. The study also revealed that the application of bio-fertilizer lowered the number of days to flowering, fruiting, and ripening by 50% as compared to the control group. Promoting the adoption and use of bio-compost made from different waste stream hold the promise to increasing tomato production.