A Study on the Effect of Bittern Treatments with Organic Fertilizers on the Growth of Tomato

Bittern, a byproduct of the solar salt production process has been studied for its potential to become a cost-effective fertilizer due to its high ion concentration. However, high salt toxicity and low levels of phosphorus and nitrogen have affected its ability to supply the plant’s nutritional requirements on its own fully. Here we observe its success as a fertilizer when paired with known organic, nutritional sources such as Gliricidia sepium and Vermi-wash in the growth of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) a crop of high commercial value and nutrition, that is cultivated in Sri Lanka during both agricultural seasons. These two components when added to diluted Bittern were able to provide nutrients that Bittern did not contain. Certain combinations of ratios of the three components were revealed to be more successful than others with the combination of Bittern 25%, Gliricidia leaf pulp, and Vermi-wash 25% leading to a 63% overall increase in growth parameters, surpassing the increment of its respective control group. This indicated that Bittern could be utilized to develop a substitute for expensive inorganic fertilizers by pairing it with other low-cost, organic nutritional sources such as Gliricidia sepium and Vermi-wash. This may also be a more environmentally friendly substitute for syntheti c fertilizers. Keywords: Bitt ern; Tomato; Gliricidia; Vermi-wash; Growth