Evaluation of cow dung as organic media and vermiculite as inorganic media in establishing Rodade plus tomato seedlings (Solanum lycopersicum)

Author

Hodzi, W.

Title

Evaluation of cow dung as organic media and vermiculite as inorganic media in establishing Rodade plus tomato seedlings (Solanum lycopersicum)

Abstract

The cultivation of tomatoes in Zimbabwe is a vital agricultural practice that supports local food security and economic development.There are many problems incurred in the production of tomatoes in Zimbabwe. These problems are mostly incurred at nursery level and these include the death of tomatoes at seedling stage, disease and pest incidence, reduction of yields due to reduction in leaf area index. Most of these problems incurred at seedling stages are caused by the poor choice in the selection of growing media in the production of tomato nurseries. This research investigates the comparative effects of cow-dung and vermiculite based growing media on tomato seedlings by measuring growth metrics such as seedling stem-height, leaf count, and survival rate. Controlled experiments were conducted to assess the performance of cow dung and vermiculite. Data collected included seedling vigor, seedling stem-thickness, seedling stem-height, seedling survival rate, leaf area index and resilience to environmental stresses. Data analysis were done using the GenStart Data Analyzing tool and where there were significant differences the means were separated using the least significant differences at 0,05 probability level. The results showed that there was no significance difference on pest incidents and disease incidence across all the growing mediums. However the growing mediums had a significant effect on stem thickness, stem height, leaf area index and survival rate across all the growing mediums. The thesis unveil the potential of cow dung in enhancing stem thickness, stem height and leaf area index due to its rich nutrient and organic content. Vermiculite provided a support for high leaf number, survival rate, pest incidence, disease incidences as well as excellent moisture retention and aeration. Loam had the poorest performance in supporting all the growth parameters. Based on the results and information given by the study, cow dung and vermiculite support different growth parameter of tomato seedlings. Growing medium which contain cow dung strongly support stem thickness, stem height and leaf area index to tomato seedlings. On the other hand, vermiculite facilitate an increase in leaf number, survival rate, pest and disease incidence, therefore farmers should use a ratio of 1:1 mix of cow dung and vermiculite to have a balance in the robustness of the tomato seedling. Conclusively, the mixture of cow dung and vermiculite in proportionality improve the health of the tomato seedlings which fosters the production of tomato in large scale which aid to poverty alleviation and curbing malnutrition diseases like kwashiorkor.

Date

JUNE 2025

Publisher

BUSE

Keywords

Nursery

Organic

Inorganic

Photosynthesis

Cow dung

Vermiculite

Seedlings

Mixture

Alleviation

Supervisor

Professor Mandumbu