Enhancing the Growth, Yield and Quality of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) through Exogenous Application of Boron and Potassium

Abstract

A field experiment was conducted to study the impact of boron and potassium as foliar application on growth, yield and quality of tomato. The experimental trial was conducted in a randomized complete block design having two factors Boron @ (Control, 100 and 200 ppm) and Potassium @ (Control, 0.2 and 0.4%) with three replications. The results showed that the application of boron and potassium significantly improved the yield and quality of tomato crops. Maximum plant height (114.8 cm), number of leaves plant^-1 (92.4), number of flower cluster plant^-1 (17.8), number of fruit per plant (69.1), fresh fruit weight (75.2 g), total soluble solid (7.0 °Brix) and yield (25.3 t ha^-1) was obtained in 200 ppm boron foliar application, while minimum was recorded in the control. Similarly, potassium application @ 0.4% resulted plant height (107.6 cm), number of leaves (85.0), number of flower cluster plant^-1 (15.4), number of fruits per plant (64.2), fresh fruit weight (66.9 g), total soluble solid (6.2 °Brix) and yield (23.9 t ha^-1). Non-significant interaction was obtained for maximum parameters. The results indicated that the judicious application of boron and potassium can significantly enhance tomato crop productivity, especially under harsh environmental conditions.