Salinity Mitigation of Tomato by Application of Chitosan and Organic Manures

Aims: The present study was designed to assess the role of chitosan and organic manures on tomato plant growth and productivity under saline condition. Study Design: The experiment was carried out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. Place and Duration of Study: The experiment was conducted at farmers’ field in the Kolapara thana under Patuakhali district during November 2023 to March 2024. Methodology: Two-factor experiment with sixteen treatment combinations consisted of four chitosan level viz., control, 250, 500 and 1000 ppm; and four different organic manures (No manure, cowdung (10 t/ha), vermicompost (10 t/ha) and, farm yard manure (10 t/ha)). Thirty days old healthy seedlings were transplanted in the experimental plots in the afternoon of 15 December 2023 maintaining a spacing of 60 × 40 cm2 between the rows and plants, respectively. The plot size was 1.8 × 1.2 m2 with 9 seedlings were planted in each plot. The seedlings were watered after transplanting. After transplanting the seedlings, different intercultural operations were done whenever necessary for better grow and development of the plants. Results: The study results exhibited that most of the parameters were significantly influenced by the different concentration of chitosan and organic manures. Among the treatment combination, chitosan 500ppm showed the longest plant (119.37 cm), the largest leaves (35.80 cm), the maximum number of flowers per cluster (6.89), the maximum number of fruits per clusters (7.50), the highest fruits weight per plant (4.86 kg) and yield (43.74 t/ha) of tomato in combination with vermicompost (10 t/h) under saline condition. Conclusion: The present studied results revealed that foliar application of chitosan alone or in combination with manures had positive impact on growth and yield contributing characters of tomato under saline condition.