EFFECTS OF CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS AND HUMIC ACID TREATMENTS ON PLANT GROWTH, YIELD AND QUALITY TRAITS OF TOMATO

CUKUROVA 6th INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC RESEARCHES CONFERENCE, Adana, Türkiye, 5 - 06 Mart 2021, cilt.1, sa.1, ss.478-488

The use of organic and chemical fertilizer resources in an appropriate mix is important for

sustainable soil fertility. This study was conducted under field conditions to investigate the

effects of chemical fertilizer and humic acid (HA) treatments on plant growth, marketable

yield, paste yield, fruit yield and quality traits of tomato. Experiments were conducted in

randomized blocks design with 3 replications. Single dose of chemical fertilizers (NPK) and

different doses (control 0, 40, 80, 120, 160 and 200 L ha-1) of HA were applied to plants. The

greatest marketable fruit yield and paste yields were obtained from chemical fertilizer + 150 L

ha-1 HA treatments followed by chemical fertilizer treatments and the lowest values were

obtained from the control plants without any treatments. Chemical fertilizer + HA treatments

also yielded better outcomes than the chemical fertilizer treatments in terms of dry matter,

soluble solids content and fruit quality traits (fruit weight, diameter and length). Besides,

greater soluble solids content and quality traits were obtained from 150 and 200 L ha-1 HA

doses. However, chemical fertilizer + HA (150 and 200 L ha-1) treatments significantly

increased plant growth parameters (plant height, fresh and dry weight) as compared to

chemical fertilizer and especially the control treatments. Present findings revealed that

chemical fertilizers played an important role in plant growth, yield and fruit quality traits in

tomato farming, but chemical fertilizers were found to be more efficient when applied

together with humic acid. Besides, present findings revealed that 150 L ha-1 HA dose could

reliably be applied since it is more economical than the greater doses.