INTEGRATED INFLUENCE OF ORGANIC MANURES IN ADDITION TO INORGANIC FERTILIZERS ON GROWTH, YIELD PARAMETERS AND EARLY BLIGHT DISEASE OF TOMATO (LYCOPERSICON ESCULENTUM L.)
Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) is a popular vegetable crop grown extensively in Karnataka. A field experiment was conducted at University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur, Karnataka during Kharif 2012 and 2013 to investigate the influence of organics and inorganic fertilizers on growth yield and early blight disease of tomato. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with nine treatments and three replications. The application of vermicompost (5 t ha-1), recommended doses of fertilizers (RDF) and sprays of panchagavya resulted in higher growth parameters in terms of plant height (108.33 cm), number of branches (79.57), days for 50 per cent flowering and higher yield parameters i.e., number of fruits per plant (38.02), yield (34.37 t ha-1). The treatments with the application of tomato consortium showed higher population of beneficial microbes in the soil. Among all the treatments, the application of tomato consortium, RDF and sprays of panchagavya showed less incidence of early blight (22.80%) followed by vermicompost (5 t ha-1), RDF and sprays of panchagavya. Various quality parameters like titrable acidity, soluble solids and shelf life of tomato were also recorded from each treatment. Almost all the growth, yield and quality parameters increased significantly with the soil application of organics and inorganic fertilizers as compared to control