TITLE:
Evaluating the Influence of Two Organic Manures on the Productivity of Five Tomato Varieties
AUTHORS:
Julius Kizito
KEYWORDS:
Cow Dung Manure, Fruit Number, Fruit Weight, Poultry Manure, Tomato Variety
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.11 No.12,
December
30,
2024
ABSTRACT: Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum mill) is a significant vegetable crop cultivated globally, second only to potatoes in acreage yet leading as a crop processed for various products. The global hectares under tomato production is 4.9 million producing 186.1 million tonnes annually and Uganda has 6606 hectares with a production of 37637.2 tonnes. Although 90.9% of Ugandan farmers use fertilizers to increase tomato yields, the yields are still very low at 4 t∙ha−1 even with varieties that have the potential of producing 16 t∙ha−1. This study evaluated the yields of five tomato varieties in two organic manures. The field plots were made using a randomized complete block design, and yields were analyzed using a generalized linear model. The varieties had a statistically significant increase in the fruit weight and number (p ˂ 0.001). The highest mean fruit number and weight were recorded in Rambo and Nouvella varieties respectively and fruit weight and number were higher in poultry manure than in cow dung manure. Differences in mean fruit weight and mean fruit number between poultry and cow dung manure were statistically significant (p ˂ 0.01). Poultry manure must be applied to increase yield outputs of the tomatoes and varieties Nouvella and Rambo need to be made available to farmers since they experimentally produced higher yields.