Growth and yield of tomato cultivated on composted duck excreta enriched wood shavings and source-separated municipal solid waste

Submitted: 15 November 2010
Accepted: 15 November 2010
Published: 22 February 2011
Abstract Views: 1180
PDF: 499
HTML: 3385
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to evaluate the use of growth substrates, made with duck excreta enriched wood shaving compost (DMC) and the organic fraction of source-separated municipal solid waste (MSW) compost, on the growth and yield of tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill. cv. Campbell 1327). Substrate A consisted of 3:2 (W/W) proportion of DMC and MSW composts. Substrates B and C were the same as A but contained 15% (W/W ratio) of brick dust and shredded plastic, respectively. Three control substrates consisted of the commercially available peat-based substrate (Pr), an in-house sphagnum peat-based substrate (Gs), and black earth mixed with sandy loam soil (BE/S) in a 1:4 (W/W) ratio. Substrates (A, B, C) and controls received nitrogen (N), phosphate (P) and potassium (K) at equivalent rates of 780 mg/pot, 625 mg/pot, and 625 mg/pot, respectively, or were used without mineral fertilizers. Compared to the controls (Pr, Gs and BE/S), tomato plants grown on A, B, and C produced a greater total number and dry mass of fruits, with no significant differences between them. On average, total plant dry-matter biomass in substrate A, B, and C was 19% lower than that produced on Pr, but 28% greater than biomass obtained for plant grown, on Gs and BE/S. Plant height, stem diameter and chlorophyll concentrations indicate that substrates A, B, and C were particularly suitable for plant growth. Although the presence of excess N in composted substrates favoured vegetative rather than reproductive growth, the continuous supply of nutrients throughout the growing cycle, as well as the high water retention capacity that resulted in a reduced watering by 50%, suggest that substrates A, B, and C were suitable growing mixes, offering environmental and agronomic advantages.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

How to Cite

Zoes, V., Paré, T., Dinel, H., Dumontet, S., Pasquale, V., & Scopa, A. (2011). Growth and yield of tomato cultivated on composted duck excreta enriched wood shavings and source-separated municipal solid waste. Italian Journal of Agronomy, 6(1), e2. https://doi.org/10.4081/ija.2011.e2