Influence of Fermented Liquid Manure (Jeevamrutha) on Growth Parameters and Yield Attributes of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) crop

Abstract

Chemical fertilizers and pesticides are used intensively in modern agriculture giving rise to insects which have become resistant to pesticides. It has also resulted in the revival of pests and declining number of beneficial organisms such as honey bees, pollinators, parasites, and predators and accumulation of residues of pesticides in food and fodder. To improve soil microflora, a farm-made bio-culture called ‘Jeevamrutha’ is added to the soil instead of fertilizers. Jeevamrutha is made from a small amount of indigenous cow dung and urine. In red sandy loam soil, an experiment was conducted to see how varying concentrations of jeevamrutha affected the growth parameters and yield attributes of tomato. In a factorial randomized complete block design, five treatments with different combinations were laid out with three replications. The experimental results revealed that applying jeevamrutha at a 50% concentration influenced growth parameters of the crops including height of plants, total number of leaves, leaf area index, root length, and shoot length significantly. The use of jeevamrutha at 100% was significant in increasing tomato fruit yield due to improvements in yield attributes such as total number of fruits per plant, weight, length, and diameter of fruits.