Effect of Organic Phosphorus on Pre-Harvest and Post-Harvest Traits of Tomato (Lycopersicon Esculentum) Grown Under Field Conditions

Yasir, Muhammad; Khalid, Anum; Musa Khan, Muhammad; Sajid, Muhammad

doi:10.21608/asejaiqjsae.2019.52548

Effect of Organic Phosphorus on Pre-Harvest and Post-Harvest Traits of Tomato (Lycopersicon Esculentum) Grown Under Field Conditions

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Key Laboratory of Horticultural Plant Biology, Ministry of Education, College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.

² Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.

³ Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Crop Production Sciences, University of Agriculture Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan

10.21608/asejaiqjsae.2019.52548

Abstract

The study was designed to assess the effect of organic phosphorus on the growth, yield and post-harvest fruit traits of tomato. Plants were fertilized with five levels of fertilizers (containing 20% organic mineralized P₂O₅, 30% decomposed organic matter and 2% organic nitrogen) with the rate of 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 kg ha^-1 accompanied with a control. Results showed that Maximum survival percentage, No. of picking/plot, fruit weight, plant height, number of branches, maximum yield was also obtained from the plots treated with 60 kg ha^-1 fertilizer. Plots with 60kg ha^-1of organic phosphorus required less days to produce 50% flowering and 50% fruit setting. Fruit maturity duration and No. of defective fruits were also minimum in the plots where fertilizer were applied with the rate of 60 kg ha^-1. Results of post-harvest analysis of fruits also revealed that different levels of organic phosphorus (organic phosphorus as a source) have no significant effect on fruit firmness but with the increase in storage time firmness decreases significantly. Total soluble solids were also reduced with the increased level of fertilizer, with the increase in storage time increased the total soluble solids in fruit. Ascorbic acid was found with higher concentrations in high levels of fertilizer which was reduced significantly with the passage of storage time. Fruit juice had maximum pH value in the control treatment which was significantly reduced with the increase of fertilizer level. However, pH started to increase when fruit was stored for more than 12 days. From the results it can be concluded that fertilization with 60 kg ha^-1, tomato plant can response better during pre-harvest and post-harvest period.

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