RESPONSE OF PRE-CONDITIONED SEEDS OF TOMATO (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) TREATED WITH VERMITEA AND YEAST SOLUTION

The study was conducted at the experimental area of the College of Agriculture, Mindanao State University- General Santos City. In order to determine the effect of vermitea and yeast solution on tomato and identify which substrates has the best result in tomato. A Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) was used in this study with five treatments replicated four times. The treatments were as follows: T1- Control (no application); T2 -2% Vermitea; T3 -4% Vermitea: T4-2% Yeast Solution and T5- 4% Yeast Solution. The parameters used to measure the performance of tomato were the following days to germination, percent germination, rate of germination, seedling vigor, plant height, number of fruits per plant, marketable fruits, non-marketable fruits, fruit weight and yield. The study revealed that the application of vermitea and yeast solution had highly affected the number of days of germination and percent germination but no significant effect on rate of germination, seedling vigor, plant height, number of fruits per plant, number of marketable and non-marketable fruits, fruit weight and yield. Best result for enhancing early seed germination and high percentage of germination is at the level of 2% vermitea solution. Similar trend is also observed in its effect on the yield parameters of tomatoes.