Author:
Sharifah Nurul Asma' Syed Ahmad Putra ,Wan Zaliha Wan Sembok
Abstract
A field experiment has been conducted to evaluate the effect of different biochar substrates and foliar fertilizer derived from seaweed on the growth of lowland cherry tomato and its fruit quality attributes. The experiment was arranged as according to the randomized complete block design with two factors viz. i) different biochar substrates (Palm Kernel Shell, PKS; Sugarcane Bagasse, SB; Coconut Shell, CS; and Walit Bird Waste; WW), and ii) with (W) and without seaweed (WO) extract. The experimental treatments were i) cocopeat with SW; ii) cocopeat (C) alone (serve as control); iii) C and PKS with seaweed; iv) C and PKS without seaweed; v) C and SB with seaweed; vi) C and SB without seaweed; vii) C and WW with seaweed; viii) C and WW without seaweed; ix) C and CS with seaweed; and x) C and CS without seaweed with four replications. The parameters evaluated were such as pre- (stem diameter) and postharvest parameters (number of fruits, fresh weight, fruit colour, fruit diameter, soluble solids concentration, titratable acidity, and fruit firmness). For the results, both factors were not significantly interacted in all parameters assessed as well as its single factor. However, in general, some of the parameters with biochar and SW showed a tendency to improve growth and fruit quality. In conclusion, regardless of SW extract, all substrates can be developed into commercial growth media exclusively for cherry tomato as they had a comparable growth and postharvest quality without causing adverse effect. In addition, the best biochar substrate could not be revealed as all the substrates had similar effect with control. Meanwhile, SW extract had the potential to be commercialized as foliar biofertilizer, however, the pure solution should be more concentrated
Publisher
Penerbit UMT, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu
Reference27 articles.
1. Agarwal, S. & Rao, A. V. (1998). Tomato lycopene and low-density lipoprotein oxidation: A human dietary intervention study. Lipids, 33(10), 981–984.
2. Ain Najwa, K.A. Wan Zaliha, W.S. Yusnita, H. and Zuraida, A.R. (2014). Effect of different soilless growing media and biochar on growth, yield and postharvest quality of lowland cherry tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum var. Cerasiforme). Transactions of the Malaysian Society of Plant Physiology. 22:53-57.
3. Al-Ajmi, A., Al-Karaki, G., and Othman, Y. (2009). Effect of Different Substrates on Fruit Yield and Quality of Cherry Tomato Grown in a Closed Soilless System. Acta Horticulturae, 807,491–494. doi:10.17660/actahortic.2009.807.71.
4. Akhtar, S., Guitong, L., Mathias. A., & Fulai, L. (2014). Biochar enhances yield and quality of tomato under reduced irrigation. Agricultural Water Management. 138, 37-44. 10.1016/j.agwat.2014.02.016.
5. Battacharyya, D., Babgohari, M.Z. Rathor, P., & Prithiviraj, B. (2015). Seaweed extracts as biostimulants in horticulture. Scientia Horticulturae 196, 39-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2015.09.012