PERFORMANCE OF TOMATO (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) AS INFLUENCED BY DIFFERENT LEVELS OF VERMICOMPOST

Inorganic fertilizers can improve crop yields but its use is limited due to scarcity, high cost nutrient imbalance, and soil acidity. Vermicompost is one of the alternative sources of fertilizer which is affordable to farmers using composts and vermicomposts as amendments, rather than industrialized fertilizer and raw manure, could improve soil nutrients and promote soil health. Compost has an important role in promoting soil health and plant growth. This study was conducted at the thesis area of the College of Agriculture at Mindanao State University-General Santos City from December, 2018 to April, 2019 with the objective of evaluating the performance of tomato as influenced by different levels of vermicompost and determine which level of vermicompost is most effective and appropriate for tomato. A Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) was used in the study having five treatments and replicated three times. The treatments were Tl- control (no application), T2Inorganic fertilizer, T3-5 t/ha, T4- 10 t/ha, T5- 20 t/ha of vermicompost, respectively. Growth characteristics such as; plant height, days to flowering, number of fruits per plant, marketable and non-marketable fruits, fruit weight and yield were evaluated. The study revealed that the application of different levels of vermicompost did not show any significant differences in the plant height, flowering period, number of fruits per plant, number of marketable fruits, number of non-marketable fruits, fruit weight and yield of tomato.