Efficacy of Chitosan on Performance of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) Plant under Water Stress Condition

Abstract

Drought stress is one of the main problems that cause a severe decrease in plant growth, development and yield. Application of chitosan helps to induce drought resistance and improved water use efficiency. Therefore, a research study was planned to investigate the effect of chitosan on growth and yield of tomato (Cv. Rio Grande) plant under water stress condition at Ornamental Nursery, Department of Horticulture, The University of Agriculture Peshawar, Pakistan, during 2018, using Completely Randomize Design (CRD) with two factors and repeated three times in a control (Glass house) environment. Different concentrations of chitosan (0, 50, 100,150 mg L-1) and various water stress intervals (3, 6, 9 and 12 days) were given to tomato plants from 15 days after transplantation. Results showed that various application of chitosan and water stress interval had a significant (P< 0.01) effect on almost all studied parameter. Tomato plants treated with 6 days water stress interval had maximum average plant height (82.69 cm), average number of leaves (104.02), leaf area (81.47 cm2), chlorophyll content (71.31 SPAD), relative water content (67.27%), excided leaf water retention (68.24%), number of fruit plant-1(24.66), average fruit weight (73.718 g) and yield (37.50-ton ha-1). Similarly, foliar application of chitosan at 100 mg L-1 resulted maximum average plant height (80.74 cm), average number of leaves (104.19), leaf area (81.05 cm2), chlorophyll content (72.29 SPAD), relative water content (66.82%), excised leaf water retention (66.58%), fruit plant-1 (24.33), average fruit weight (74.74 g) and yield (37.37 ton ha-1). It is concluded that 100 mg L-1chitosan application along with 6 days water interval had positive impact on growth and quality of tomato.