{"title":"Effect of Organic and Chemical Fertilizer Application on Growth, Yield, and Quality of Small-Sized Tomatoes","authors":"Takamitsu Kai, Shunya Nishimori, M. Tamaki","doi":"10.4236/jacen.2020.93011","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Tomatoes in Japan are generally cultivated under management systems that \nuse chemical fertilizers and synthetic chemical pesticides. However, the \ncontinuous use of these fertilizers and pesticides damages the soil environment \nand reduces the number of soil microorganisms. Organic farming has a relatively \nlow environmental impact compared to conventional farming techniques, but \ntypically has lower and more unstable yields. In this study, we investigated \nthe effect of organic and chemical fertilizer application on growth, yield, and \nquality of small-sized (cherry) tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes were cultivated using \norganic and chemical organic fertilizers. Average weight and lateral diameter \nwere significantly higher under organic fertilizer than under chemical \nfertilizer. In addition, shoot dry weight was significantly higher under \norganic fertilizer than chemical fertilizer. Lycopene content was significantly \nhigher under organic fertilizer than chemical fertilizer. The total carbon \n(TC), total phosphorus (TP), total potassium (TK), available phosphoric (SP) \nand exchangeable potassium (SK) contents, C/N ratio, and pH were significantly \nhigher under organic fertilizer than chemical fertilizer. Bacterial biomass, \nnitrite (NO? 2-N) \noxidation activity, nitrification (N) circulation activity, and phosphoric (P) \ncirculation were higher under organic fertilizer than chemical fertilizer. From \nthese results, the study indicates that appropriate controls such as TC, total \nnitrogen (TN), and C/N ratio of organic fertilizer increased microbial biomass \nand enhanced nutrient circulation such as N circulation activity and P \ncirculation activity. These results can be used to \nimprove current organic farming practices and promote soil conservation.","PeriodicalId":68148,"journal":{"name":"农业化学和环境(英文)","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2020-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"4","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"农业化学和环境(英文)","FirstCategoryId":"1091","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.4236/jacen.2020.93011","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 4
Abstract
Tomatoes in Japan are generally cultivated under management systems that
use chemical fertilizers and synthetic chemical pesticides. However, the
continuous use of these fertilizers and pesticides damages the soil environment
and reduces the number of soil microorganisms. Organic farming has a relatively
low environmental impact compared to conventional farming techniques, but
typically has lower and more unstable yields. In this study, we investigated
the effect of organic and chemical fertilizer application on growth, yield, and
quality of small-sized (cherry) tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes were cultivated using
organic and chemical organic fertilizers. Average weight and lateral diameter
were significantly higher under organic fertilizer than under chemical
fertilizer. In addition, shoot dry weight was significantly higher under
organic fertilizer than chemical fertilizer. Lycopene content was significantly
higher under organic fertilizer than chemical fertilizer. The total carbon
(TC), total phosphorus (TP), total potassium (TK), available phosphoric (SP)
and exchangeable potassium (SK) contents, C/N ratio, and pH were significantly
higher under organic fertilizer than chemical fertilizer. Bacterial biomass,
nitrite (NO? 2-N)
oxidation activity, nitrification (N) circulation activity, and phosphoric (P)
circulation were higher under organic fertilizer than chemical fertilizer. From
these results, the study indicates that appropriate controls such as TC, total
nitrogen (TN), and C/N ratio of organic fertilizer increased microbial biomass
and enhanced nutrient circulation such as N circulation activity and P
circulation activity. These results can be used to
improve current organic farming practices and promote soil conservation.