ISHS Acta Horticulturae 659: VII International Symposium on Protected Cultivation in Mild Winter Climates: Production, Pest Management and Global Competition
ORGANIC PRODUCTION OF GREENHOUSE TOMATOES UTILIZING THE BAG SYSTEM AND SOLUBLE ORGANIC FERTILIZERS |
| Authors: | M.M. Peet, J.M. Rippy, P.V. Nelson, G.L. Catignani |
| Keywords: | organic fertilizers, soluble organic fertilizers, organic substrates, plant nutrition |
| DOI: | 10.17660/ActaHortic.2004.659.92 |
| Abstract:
Two soluble commercial organic mixes and an ‘in-house’ organic blend, were compared to conventional fertilizer. Fertilizers were applied using drip irrigation to greenhouse tomatoes growing in bags filled with peat/perlite. Plant development rates were similar among treatments, but by the end of the experiment, vigor varied widely. All three organic fertilizers tested resulted in significantly lower yields than conventional fertilizers. The ‘in-house blend’, which most closely resembled conventional fertilizer N-P-K, had comparable vigor to conventionally grown plants and good pH and CEC characteristics, but the nitrogen source (bloodmeal) was difficult to keep in solution. Lower yields in the blend compared to the conventional fertilizer may have been a result of initial emitter clogging and low N levels. Substrate pH levels were below optimal in all treatments, although in our previous study utilizing vermicompost, pH levels were above optimal. This demonstrates the difficulty of predicting pH in organically fertilized container-grown plants. Although some of the differences between fertilization treatments in fruit lycopene and carotene were significant, no consistent differences between organic and conventional treatments were observed. | |
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files) | |
