Response of Tomatoes and Sunflower Intercropping to Organic and Mineral Fertilization

A field experiment was conducted at Etay El-Baroud Research Station, El Beheira Governorate, Agriculture Research Center (ARC), Giza, Egypt during 2023 and 2024 seasons to study the effect of intercropping 100% tomatoes + 43% sunflower and fertilization by 50% mineral, NPK + 50% farm-yard manure, FYM; 50% mineral, NPK + 50% poultry manure, PM; 75% mineral, NPK + 25% farm-yard manure, FYM; 75% mineral NPK + 25% poultry manure, PM; 25% mineral, NPK + 75% farm-yard manure, FYM; 25% mineral, NPK+ 75% poultry manure, PM; 100% mineral, NPK; 100% mineral NPK for sole tomatoes and 100% mineral, NPK for sole sunflower on yield, and its components of both crops. Randomized complete block Design (RCBD) with three replications was used. 100% tomatoes + 43% sunflower with 50% NPK + 50% FYM produced maximum fruit characters, fruit yield/ fed and marketable fruit yield/ fed of tomatoes in both seasons. Intercropping sunflower with tomatoes reduced of damaged tomato fruits was markedly affected by sun scorch to 4.12 and 4.45%, resulting in a 15.46 and 15.31% increase in marketable yield/ fed under average of seven fertilizer treatments compared with sole tomatoes in both seasons, respectively. Grown sunflower pure stand with 100% NPK resulted in the highest seed yield/ fed in both seasons. Intercropping 100%tomatoes + 43% sunflower which fertilized by 50% NPK + 50% FYM produced maximum LER, gross returns and net returns (1.66 and 1.66 LER, 86804.23 and 109299.48 L.E. as well as 59960.91 and 77111.98 L.E./ fed) in both seasons, respectively.