Effect of potassium on yield, quality and shelf life of tomato

Abstract

The experiment was conducted at the experimental field of the Department of Horticulture, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU), Salna, Gazipur, to study the effect of potassium on yield, quality and shelf life of tomato under ambient condition during 15 October 2015 to 30 June 2016. Six levels of K viz., 0, 35, 70, 105, 140 and 175 kg/ha consisted of the treatments of the experiment. The tomato plant treated with K105 produced maximum plant height (128.50 cm), number of fruits plant-1 (26.49), fruit diameter (5.71 cm), fruit length (5.83 cm), weight of fruits plant-1 (1.72 kg), fruit yield ha-1(71.96 ton), dry matter (7.56 %), firmness (1.22 N), shelf life (15 days), TSS (10.30 %), β carotene (0.090 mg/100 g), ascorbic acid (26.49 mg/100 g) and total sugar (5.05 %). Contents of iron (123.20 ppm), calcium (0.42%) and potassium (0.71%) were recorded maximum in K140, K35 and K175 respectively. Iron and potassium content increased with the increasing level of potassium but reverse effect was found in case of calcium. The regression equation for applied K were Y=-3.339x2 + 636.5x + 42606. Based on this equation, the optimum dose of K for tomato was 95.31 kg ha-1 in salna series of shallow red brown terrace soil and its corresponding yield is 71.96 t ha-1.

Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 44(4): 659-668, December 2019