Changes in morphological and quantitative parameters of tomato in response to the use of fish pond water

Baji, Amin; Shabani, Edris; Alamzadeh Ansari, Naser; Albaji, Mohammad

doi:10.22034/iuvs.2023.2003702.1291

Changes in morphological and quantitative parameters of tomato in response to the use of fish pond water

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Amin Baji ¹

edris shabani ²

naser alamzadeh ansari ³

Mohammad Albaji ⁴

¹ M.Sc. student of Horticultural Science, Department of Horticultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

² Assistant Professor, Department of Horticultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.

³ Assistant Professor, Department of Horticultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

⁴ Associate Professor, Irrigation and Drainage Department, Faculty of Water and Environmental Engineering, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.

10.22034/iuvs.2023.2003702.1291

Abstract

Extended Abstract

Introduction: Tomato (Solanum lycopersicon) is one of the most consumed vegetables in the world due to their abundance of vitamins, lycopene, iron, calcium, manganese, magnesium, and potassium. Khuzestan, with a production of over 21,000 tons of tomatoes in 90 hectares of greenhouses, ranks fourth in the country after the provinces of Bushehr, Isfahan, East Azerbaijan, and Sistan and Baluchestan (the total area under tomato greenhouse cultivation in Iran is over 2400 hectares). Due to the trend of drought in Iran, providing the required water for this level of cultivation will be one of the main challenges and concerns of farmers in the future. Therefore, the necessity of attention to water supply for this level of tomato greenhouses, considering the dry and semi-dry nature of the country, seems to be crucial. One of the biggest recent challenges in Iran is the limitation of water resources, which has reduced access to water for both human and agricultural uses due to low levels of rainfall, poor distribution, high evaporation and transpiration rates, and the phenomenon of drought. To overcome the water shortage, the use of aquaculture wastewater or its combination with agricultural water can be a solution due to lower water and chemical fertilizer consumption, as well as prevention of the release of nutrient-rich water sources into rivers. This can be one of the helpful management strategies in solving the water shortage problem in dry and semi-dry regions for agricultural production.
Materials and Methods: To investigate the effect of using fish pond wastewater on the morphological and growth characteristics of three greenhouse tomato cultivars, a factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized block design with three replications in the greenhouse of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz during the autumn and winter of 2021-2022. Tomato seedlings were first produced under LED light in a room and transferred to 9-liter pots with a row spacing of 90 cm and a plant spacing of 30 cm at the 3-4 leaf stage. The planting media used in this experiment was sand which was washed several times with purified water before use. The treatments in this experiment consisted of three types of nutrient solutions (Resh nutrient solution, fish pond water, and modified fish pond water) and three promising greenhouse tomato cultivars (V₄, AZ₄ and AZ₅). In order to modify the fish pond water, 50 liters of tap water were mixed with 50 liters of fish pond water. The fractional amounts of elements in the growth nutrient solution were adjusted to standard concentrations of elements in the hydroponic culture using common fertilizers. During the growth period and at the end of the experiment, the growth, morphological, and growth characteristics of the tomato plants were measured and examined until the fifth cluster harvest.
Results and Discussion: The results of this experiment showed that the Resh nutrient solution and modified fish pond water had the highest plant height, leaf number, and stem diameter compared to fish pond water alone. The results of the interaction between nutrient solution and tomato cultivars indicated that the longest distance from the planting medium to the first inflorescence was observed in the AZ₅ cultivar with fish pond water, and the shortest distance was observed in the V₄cultivar with modified fish pond water. It seems that the increased uptake of nutrients such as nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus in the growth nutrient solution and modified fish pond water treatments led to an increase in plant height, leaf area, stem diameter, and node number, while the insufficient availability of these nutrients in fish pond water treatment resulted in a decrease in growth indices. Based on the results, it was found that fish pond water had the longest days to the formation of the third fruit cluster (82 days), and modified fish pond water and Resh nutrient solution had the shortest days to the formation of the third fruit cluster (74 days). Furthermore, the Resh nutrient solution and modified fish pond water had the highest total fruit weight (480.84 and 456.00 g, respectively) and fruit diameter (6.25 and 5.99 cm, respectively) in the second cluster. Fish pond water had the lowest total fruit weight (247.89g) and fruit diameter (5.33 cm) in the second cluster. The results showed that the V₄ cultivar had the highest total fruit weight in the second cluster with a mean of 425 g. The AZ₄ and AZ₅ cultivars had the lowest total fruit weight with 380 and 375 g, respectively. According to the comparison of means, the modified fish pond water and Resh nutrient solution treatments had the highest total fruit weight (477.93 and 456.49 g, respectively), fruit volume (107.47 and 98.15 cubic cm³, respectively), fruit length (5.66 and 5.11 cm, respectively), and fruit diameter (6.38 and 6.19 cm, respectively) in the third cluster. Fish pond water had the lowest total fruit weight (257.18 g), fruit volume (78.24 cm³), fruit length (4.84 cm), and fruit diameter (5.69 cm) in the third cluster. Previous studies have shown that increasing the concentration of nutrients in fish pond water, including magnesium, calcium, potassium, and even nitrogen, leads to increased fruit production and yield in mature plants under the influence of fish pond water salts. Therefore, the use of fish pond water and the modification of its nutrients with conventional fertilizers not only reduce the consumption of fertilizers and water in the agricultural sector, but can also play an effective role in reducing environmental risks and improving the level of sustainable agriculture.
Conclusion: The results of this experiment showed that modifying fish pond water probably improves the growth and yield indices of tomato fruit, possibly due to the adequate supply of required nutrients to the plant, similar to the standard Resh nutrient solution. The results showed that using modified fish pond water not only did not reduce the yield but also could increase the crop yield compared to fish pond water treatment. Additionally, the V₄ cultivar had a more desirable performance in terms of yield and growth indices compared to other cultivars studied. Therefore, based on the results of this study, the promising V₄ line is recommended for greenhouse cultivation using modified fish pond water.

Keywords

Cultivar

Greenhouse

Nutrient solution

Total Fruit weight

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