Boosting organic tomato yield/quality: foliar vermiwash and vermicompost tea in soilless and soil-based systems greenhouse

Abstract This study was carried out at the National Center for Organic Agriculture, Qassim, Saudi Arabia to investigate the effects of foliar application of vermiwash liquid (VW) and vermicompost tea (VT) on the biochemical, physiological, and yield-related traits of organically grown tomato ( Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) under greenhouse conditions using two systems: Soilless system(SS) and soil-based system (SBS). Vermicompost tea and VW liquid were Sprayed at different concentrations, and their impacts on fruit quality and productivity were assessed. Vermiwash liquid at 100 ml/l showed the best results across measured parameters. Compared to the control, total soluble solids (TSS) and total sugars (TS) increased by up to 16.30% and 24.53%, respectively, while total acidity decreased by 27.16%. Vitamin C content increased by 46.4%, and chlorophyll content improved by 30.54%. Yield and yield components also responded positively: yield per plant, fruit number per plant and fruit weight increased by 120.8% and 88.15% and 17.0%, respectively, with VW 100 ml/l. Plant height showed a modest but significant increase, and fruit firmness improved by 19.89%. While SBS favored some fruit quality traits like TSS, SS produced higher yields and fruit quality. The interaction effect of VT and VW was not significant in most studied parameters. The only exception was reported with number of fruits per plant (NF), fruit weight (FW), and plant yield (Y). Overall, VW, particularly at 100 ml/l, proved more effective than VT in enhancing tomato quality and yield, suggesting that VW is more appropriate for foliar applications compared to VT. The results also highlight the importance of choosing the cultivation systems in improving the yield and quality organic greenhouse farming.