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Received 9 April 2018; accepted 11 June 2018
ABSTRACT
Tomato is one of the most important vegetable crops grown in Nigeria and other part of Africa. Most hydroponic tomato growers in Africa are using sawdust as a growing medium due to its availability and affordability. However, there is little or no information on how sawdust influences growth parameters of tomato and its yield. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of the use of sawdust as a growth medium on growth and yield of tomato as against the use of soil medium. Seeds of tomato raised in nursery condition were transplanted into sawdust (10 pots) and soil (control) and watered daily for period of 8 weeks. The results showed that weeks after transplanting had significant effect on all the growth parameters and different growth media used showed differences on the growth and yield of tomato. The result of this study showed that sawdust can be used as an alternative growth medium in planting tomato although all the growth parameters (plant height, number of leaves, leaf length and leaf width, number of fruits) were delayed as compared to those planted on the soil. Therefore, saw dust can be used for commercial production of tomato hydroponically and further studies should be conducted on the use of mixture of sawdust and soil media for growing tomato hydroponically and also to check whether the yield and quality of hydroponically grown tomatoes are being affected in terms of yield and nutrient content.
KEY WORDS: Sawdust, growth, yield, tomato.
INTRODUCTION
Tomato is an herbaceous plant commonly grown as an annual, though perennial tomato culture is an established practice in many parts of South America. As an important source of minerals, vitamins and health acids, tomato is one of the most important vegetable crops of solanaceae grown universally with the production of 124.75 million tonnes (FAO, 2007).
In Nigeria, tomato is regarded as the most important vegetable after onions and pepper (Fawusi, 1978). It is an important condiment in most diets and a very cheap source of vitamins. It also contains a large quantity of water (%), calcium (%) and Niacin all of which are of great importance in the metabolic activities of man. Tomato is a good...