Productivity, quality and economics of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) cultivation in aggregate hydroponics - A case study from Coimbatore region of Tamil Nadu

Abstract

There is a need for low cost, readily available, simple, attractive technologies which can utilize space and water efficiently to increase the productivity in agriculture. Simplified hydroponics is one such option which does not require costly facilities, high running cost and intensive care. This study is an attempt to develop certain low cost aggregate hydroponic techniques for tomato production under naturally ventilated polyhouse located in Precision Farming Development Centre, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. The experiment was laid out in a factorial randomized block design replicated thrice. Three different hydroponic systems, i.e., tray, trough & pot and three different media combinations, i.e., cocopeat+gravel+silex stone, cocopeat+pebble+silex stone & cocopeat+perlite+silex stone, constituted the factors of the treatments. The maximum yield (4.9 kg/plant) was observed for the treatment trough with cocopeat+gravel+silex stone (T4) followed by trough with cocopeat+perlite+silex stone (T6) and trough with cocopeat+pebble+silex stone (T5) with values 4.2 and 3.9 kg/ plant respectively. The highest productivity obtained from the treatment T4 was 245.3 t/ha. The treatment T2 (tray with cocopeat+pebble+silex stone) yielded least (2.8kg/plant) with a productivity of 138.3 t/ha. The highest total soluble solids (12.5°brix) was recorded for the treatment T4 followed by T6 (10.9°brix) and T5 (10.5°brix) and the lowest (8.3°brix) was recorded for the treatment T1 (tray with cocopeat+gravel+silex stone. Regarding colour values all hydroponic treatments showed a* / b* values greater than 0.95 indicating full maturity. L* value was also highest for T4 (44.45). The highest (benefit cost) B/C ratio (4.52) was obtained for the same treatment T4. All hydroponic treatment worked out B/C ratio greater than 1.5. Regarding productivity, quality and economics, the treatment T4 trough with cocopeat+gravel+silex stone (in the ratio 2:1:1v / v) performed best and can be adopted for commercial production of tomato.