Research on Crops

Quantitative assessment of growth and morphological traits in tomato cultivation under polyhouse conditions in Nagaland


DOI: 10.31830/2348-7542.2025.ROC-1137    | Article Id: ROC-1137 | Page : 325-331
Citation :- Quantitative assessment of growth and morphological traits in tomato cultivation under polyhouse conditions in Nagaland. Res. Crop. 26: 325-331
KONJENGBAM RAMIT SINGH AND NAGATO K AYE ramit@neida.org.in
Address : North East Initiative Development Agency (NEIDA), Bayuvu, Kohima, Nagaland-797001, India
Submitted Date : 9-10-2024
Accepted Date : 30-04-2025
Online Published:

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to assess the impact of varied substrates on heirloom, tree, and cherry tomato seedlings grown at two nursery stations in Nagaland, India. The experiment was conducted during 2022-23 in two locations: K Station, Tseminyu, and Pfutseromi, Phek are selected based on topographical variation and climatology. Five substrate mixtures were tested: T1: Sand + Soil; T2: Garden wastes + FYM; T3: Treated Manure/FYM + cocopeat; T4: Cocopeat + Vermicompost + Perlite; and T5: Soil + Sand + FYM. Seedling growth characteristics recorded at 30 days after sowing were as follows; shoot length, root length, shoot and root diameter, shoot dry and fresh biomass, leaf number and branch number. Consequently, data of seedling growth reveals the differences in relation to the substrates and nurseries stations studied both in the current research and the previous study. The comparative analysis revealed that the T5: Soil + Sand + FYM treatment was the best for all tomato varieties, as demonstrated by the significantly higher shoot length and root length, shoot fresh and dry weight, and all the vegetative parameters. On the other hand, the treated Manure/FYM + Cocopeat (T3) substrate recorded the least value in majority of the parameters analyzed. For the growth rates of the nursery stations, K Station recorded a better performance in heirloom and cherry tomato while Pfutseromi was better in tree tomato seedling implying that altitude and temperature influenced the growth of seedling. Therefore, it can be seen that both substrate selection and the conditions at the nursery station are of paramount importance in the promotion of the early growth phases of tomato plants. The Soil + Sand + FYM (T5) is an effective media for enhancing the tomato seedling growth and the best recommended environmental conditions include a temperature of 26 – 28 ˚C, humidity of 65 – 70% and the growth of the seedlings in a phytotron.

Keywords

Cherry tomato heirloom tomato polyhouse cultivation tree tomato 

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