Authors:
Okoye, Chika Maryrose, Agbai, Sunny Okonkwo, Amaefule, Excel Obumneme and Okorie, Chidinma Helen, Nigeria |
Abstract:
In Nigeria, agricultural land faces constant depletion due to continuous cropping and competition
from urban development. Urban areas suffer from severe land scarcity as available land is
utilized for industrial and recreational purposes. Smarter, sustainable farming methods are
essential to conserve agricultural soil and maintain crop yield. Thus, an experiment was
conducted from December 2016 to June 2017 to investigate the impact of different composting
media and durations on containerized tomato cultivation. Four media compositions were tested,
including rice husk dust, topsoil, poultry manure, and river sand, in various ratios. The
experiment involved composting the media for either eight or six weeks. Results showed that
tomato growth increased over time and varied among treatments. Media significantly influenced
growth parameters, with T4 performing the best overall. However, T3 yielded the highest fruit
weight due to its high topsoil content. Soilless medium (T1) performed poorly due to low
nutrient content and slow decomposition of rice husk. Composting duration alone did not
significantly affect tomato growth and yield, but the interaction of media and composting
duration revealed that T2 composted for eight weeks yielded the best results.
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