EFFECTS OF POTASSIUM ON GROWTH, YIELD AND QUALITY CHARACTERS IN TOMATO

Abstract

The growth, yield contributing characters and yield of tomato largely depend on soil and climatic conditions and also on variety. Among these, proper doses of potassium and variety play a vital role. The field experiment was conducted at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University Farm, Dhaka, Bangladesh during October 2015 to April, 2016 to evaluate the effect of potassium on yield and quality of tomato. Two different varieties, viz., BARI Tomato-2, Minto hybrid Tomato and five doses of potassium viz. P0=0 kg/ha, P1= 140 kg/ha, P2= 150 kg/ha, P3= 160 kg/ha, P4= 170 kg/ha were used to conduct this experiment. The experiment was laid out in Randomized complete Block Design (RCBD) having two factors and replicated three times. Data were collected on plant height, number of branches per plant, length of branch, number flowers cluster per pant, number of fruit per plant, yield per plot, yield per hectare, TSS, β- Carotene content and Vit C content. A statistically significant variation was recorded in terms of all the characters related to growth and yield of tomato. The maximum plant height, number of branches per plant, length of branch was produced by Minto hybrid. The maximum number flowers cluster per plant and number of fruit per plant was produced by Minto hybrid. The maximum yield of fruits per hectare (41.60 tones) was obtained from Minto hybrid. The maximum plant height, number of branches per plant, length of branch was observed in doses of potassium 160 kg/ha. The maximum number flowers cluster per plant and number of fruit per plant was produced by doses of potassium 160 kg/ha. The maximum yield of fruits per hectare (35.24 tones) was obtained from doses of potassium 160 kg/ha treatment. The highest yield of fruits per hectare (49.01 tones) was obtained from Mintro hybrid Tomato with 160 kg K/ha. The lowest yield of fruits per hectare (12.22 tones) was obtained from BARI Tomato-2 with 0 kg K/ha.