Compost and vermicompost as nursery pot components: effects on tomato plant growth and morphology

By C. Lazcano, J. Arnold, A. Tato, Johann G. Zaller, J. Domínguez. 2009

202 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Post transplant success after nursery stage is strongly influenced by plant morphology. Cultural practices strongly shape plant morphology, and substrate choice is one of the most determining factors. Peat is the most often used amendment in commercial potting substrates, involving the exploitation of non-renewable resources and the degradation of highly valuable peatland ecosystems and therefore alternative substrates are required. Here the feasibility of replacing peat by compost or vermicompost for the production of tomato plants in nurseries was investigated through the study of the effect of increasing proportions of these substrates (0%, 10%, 20%, 50%, 75% and 100%) in target plant growth and morphological features, indicators of adequate post-transplant growth and yield. Compost and vermicompost showed to be adequate substrates for tomato plant growth. Total replacement of peat by vermicompost was possible while doses of compost higher than 50% caused plant mortality. Low doses of compost (10 and 20%) and high doses of vermicompost produced significant increases in aerial and root biomass of the tomato plants. In addition these treatments improved significantly plant morphology (higher number of leaves and leaf area, and increased root volume and branching). The use of compost and vermicompost constitute an attractive alternative to the use of peat in plant nurseries due to the environmental benefits involved but also due to the observed improvement in plant quality.

Subfields: Plant Science, Soil Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/b6444e3ab0b95b20311e6123cc08ee454f10a3a2

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Citations in the corpus

Vermicompost as soil supplement to enhance growth, yield and quality of Triticum aestivum L.: a field study (2013, background): “…et al. 2011), Groundnut (Mycin et al. 2010), Okra (Ansari and Kumar Sukhraj 2010), Cucumber (Azarmi et al. 2009; Sallaku et al. 2009), Tomato (Lazcano et al. 2009), Amaranthus sp. (Uma and Malathi 2009), Garlic (Suthar 2009), Andrographis paniculata (Vijaya et al. Open Access article…”
Vermicompost as an effective organic fertilizer and biocontrol agent: effect on growth, yield and quality of plants (2015, background): “…lettuce (Lactuca sativa) cultivars on vermicompost applications as reported by Reddy and Ohkura (2004), Vijaya et al. (2008), Peyvast et al. (2008), Lazcano et al. (2009), Uma and Malathi (2009), Mycin et al. (2010), Khan and Ishaq (2011), Singh et al. (2011) and Papathanasiou et al. (2012)…”
Compost and compost tea: Principles and prospects as substrates and soil-borne disease management strategies in soil-less vegetable production (2012, background): “Lazcano et al. (2009) also reported that these treatments significantly improved plant morphology, resulting in a higher number of leaves and leaf area and increased root volume and branching.”
Vermicompost, the story of organic gold: A review (2012, background): “The effects include alterations in seedling morphology such as increased leaf area and root branching [54] and also has been shown to stimulate plant flowering, increasing the number and biomass of the flowers produced [51,55] as well as increasing fruit yield [26,27,49,56].”
Agronomic Efficiency of Animal-Derived Organic Fertilizers and Their Effects on Biology and Fertility of Soil: A Review (2021, background): “[102] found higher tomato plants death due to rigorous use of compost manure and suggested that the application dosages need to be well controlled.”
Vermicompost treatment differentially affects seed germination, seedling growth and physiological status of vegetable crop species (2011, background): “The beneficial effects include but are not limited to stimulation of seed germination (Atiyeh et al. 2000; Arancon et al. 2007a; Lazcano et al. 2010), activation of growth ( Lazcano et al. 2009; Uma and Malathi 2009), protection against pathogens (Singh et al. 2003; Rivera et al. 2004; Zaller 2006)”