Performance of Glomus clarum and Tithonia diversifolia compost in improving growth and yield of tomato ( Lycopersicum esculentum Mill )

Screen house experiments were conducted at the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Ibadan, on a sandy loam soil in two years, to assess the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (Glomus clarum) and compost (sunflower) on the growth and yield of tomato plants. The experimental design was laid out in a Complete Randomized Design (CRD) with nine treatments replicated three times. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and Compost (CMP) were applied into 8 kg soil each at the levels of 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10 tonnes/ha each (2.5 g, 5.0 g, 7.5 g and 10 g respectively), while the control had 0 tonnes /ha (0 g). Results showed that plants treated with 5.0 tonnes/ha AMF produced highest cumulative weight of harvested fruits per plant and number of fruits per plant which were significantly higher (P<0.05) than other treatments. Application of 2.5 tonnes/ha CMP significantly (P<0.05) produced the highest number of tomato leaves per plant, while the highest number of flowers per plant was significantly higher for 7.5 tonnes/ha CMP. The tallest plants and plants with highest number of branches were also recorded for 5.0 tonnes/ha AMF. This study showed that 5.0 tonnes/ha is the optimum level of AMF required for the cultivation of tomato plant which could have arisen from optimum uptake of phosphorus in the soil.


Introduction
nutrients such as Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), copper (Cu), Iron (Fe) and manganese Tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill) is an (Mn) (Janseen, 1993).Tomato requires a deep wellimportant edible fruit vegetable widely cultivated in drained loamy soil with pH of 5.0 -7.5 and thrives well every part of the world including West Africa, in areas with evenly distributed rainfall of 50 -125 particularly Nigeria.It can be eaten raw in salads, cm, extended period of sunshine and temperature cooked into soup and processed to juice, sauce, o requirements ranging from 22 -25 C. Temperature paste, stew puree, ketchup or as powder in canning o above 29 C tends to inhibit fruitings (Ayres, 2014).industries (Tsado, 2014).Crop production generally Application of organic fertilizers influences depends on many factors which can improve the soil physical, chemical and biological properties in the soil.fertility and this is achieved by the application of It produces humus for maintaining soil fertility and organic or inorganic fertilizer that aids the improving soil structure, texture, aeration and improvement of quality of crops on food for man microbial activities in the soil; thereby enhancing (Rosen and Bierman, 2005; Solutions for sustainable downward movement of water.Animal dung and Agriculture and Food Systems, 2013).
Optimal other metabolic waste products can be utilized growth and yield of tomato production will be effectively as sources of manure as it has been known enhanced when fertile soil supplies essential plant to release higher nutritional quality needed by plants for successful growth (Hsieh and Hsieh, 1990).
The treatments consisted of four AMF (2.5, Mexican sunflower, Tithonia diversifolia is a 5.0, 7.5 and 10.0 tons/ha) and four CMP (2.5, 5.0, 7.5 prolific shrub with dark green leaves and bright yellow and 10.0 tons/ha) rates, while the control had 0 flowers commonly found on wastelands.It grows tons/ha.The treatments were laid out in a complete naturally, and if its potential is tapped, soil infertility randomized design (CRD) with three replications.problem would be solved (Obatolu, 1995).Sunflower Glomus clarum and sunflower compost were used as residues include; green leaves and stem, dry shed sources of biological and organic fertilizers, leaves, dry stem/stumps and pollen/nectar etc.
respectively.Recent research has proven that there are Transplanting of tomato seedlings was done considerable nutrients available to farmers who use after 2 weeks of CMP and AMF application.Three green foliage of this plant (Udo, 1982;John et al., tomato plants were randomly selected and tagged 1995).
within each treatment for data collection on plant Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are height, number of leaves per plant, number of biological fertilizers which improve plant growth and branches per plant, number of flowers per plant, yield by enhancing water and mineral uptake number of fruits per plant and weight of harvested (Osonubi et al., 1991;Gemma et al., 1997;Olawuyi et fruit per plant. al., 2011b;Abiala et al., 2013).They also play Data collected were subjected to analysis of important roles in maintaining soil aggregate stability; variance (ANOVA) using F-test for significant improve soil structure and porosity which positively differences of the treatments using Statistical Analysis influence the growth of plants by promoting aeration System (SAS) version 9.1 ( 2003).Differences among (Tisdall, 1991).The AMF, Glomus clarum, had earlier mean of the treatments were separated using the been reported for its growth promoting potentials, as Least Significant Difference (LSD) at 5% level of demonstrated by Olawuyi et al. (2012) and probability.

Fapohunda et al. (2013). Thus, application of AMF can reduce cost of production in horticultural plants
Results and Discussion (Douds and Reider, 2003).
Analysis of soil (Table 1) shows that the soil In achieving sufficient food production and was sandy loam in texture and slightly acidic in nature maximum crop yield potential, concerted efforts are with mean pH 5.8.Other chemical soil properties needed to accelerate soil productivity, by adopting soil were generally low according to Babaji (2002).The improvement technique and addition of humus to the mean values of cation exchange capacity, nitrogen soil.These can be achieved through appropriate and available phosphorus of soil which were found to application of organic raw materials and taking steps be low in the experimental plot; shows that the sandy to locate, conserve and process all sources of organic loam nature of the soil was suitable enough for the materials available in the country in order to sustain experiment.agricultural production.The study therefore aimed at assessing the effects of different levels of AMF and Table 1: Chemical and physical properties of the soil Sunflower Compost (CMP) on the growth and yield of sample of the experimental plot at 0-30cm depths tomato.
(Mean of two years).

Materials and Methods
Screen house experiments were conducted between August, 2009 and April, 2010 at the Institute of Agricultural Research andTraining, Ibadan, between August, 2009 andApril, 2010.Samples of the top soil (0-30 cm depth) were taken from the site and analyzed for their physical and chemical properties (Table 1), while microbial analysis was also done to show the biological properties of the soil (Table 2).In the two experiments, seedlings of tomato (Roma VF) variety were raised for 5 weeks in the nursery beds, before being transplanted into sterilized soil filled into 8kg plastic pots, and were arranged at 50x50cm spacing distance in the screen house using procedure described by Olawuyi et al.Analysis of the soil for microbial load (Table 2) also (2011a).
indicated that the microorganisms present in the soil  1992) and cerevisae etc.This shows that the interactions of Vince et al. (2002) which reported that nitrogen (N) these microbes in the soil might have been and phosphorus (P) were essential nutrients for leaf responsible for the presence of organic matter as production in plants.Amans and Kadam (1990) also similarly reported by Norman (1992).
reported increased leaf production in response to N and P. Similar results are also obtained by Achakzai et Table 2: Microbial load analysis of soil before al. ( 2012) and Liasu and Achakzi (2007).application of CMP and AMF (mean of two years) Table 4 also indicated that there were significant differences among AMF and CMP treatments from 6 to 8 WAT.Five tons/ha AMF produced the highest mean number of branches from 8WAT (18.67) to 12WAT (34.667), while the control treatments had the least.The highest number of flowers were produced in AMF treated plants compared to CMP treated plants and control.Plants treated with 10 tons/ha AMF produced flowers earlier than other plants and recorded the highest number of flowers (4.00) at 6WAT.The highest number of flowers was recorded for plants Of tomato treated with different rates of AMF and CMP treated with 7.5 tons/ha compost (2.667) at 12WAT at 2 weeks after transplanting (WAT) and 4WAT but (Table 5).differed from the control (Table 3).
The highest mean number of leaves per plant Table 5: Effects of different levels of AMF and CMP on was recorded for 10 tons/ha of compost fertilizer at the number of flowers per plant (mean of two years).4WAT (29.33) but was also observed that plants treated with 2.5 tons/ha CMP produced the highest mean number of leaves at 6WAT (39.67), 8WAT (53.67), 10WAT (58.67) and 12WAT (67.67) compared to other treatments.Among the plants treated with AMF, 5 g AMF recorded the lowest number of leaves at 6WAT, it increased from 24.66 to 48.33 at 8WAT while the least number of leaves were recorded for the control treatments in all the weeks.
The number of leaves were significantly (P<0.05)affected by AMF and CMP from 6 to 12 WAT.Comparison of the treatments showed that 2.5 tons/ha CMP produced the highest number of tomato .

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This suggest that the earlier maturing traits Conclusion can be selected and considered for breeding to The results showed that 5.0 tons/ha AMF enhance better growth performance, agronomic produced the highest mean cumulative number of characters and higher yield.fruits per plant (6.00) and weight of harvested fruits Results of the effect of different levels of AMF and per plant (586.85 g).Also, among the treatments with CMP on tomato height (cm) are presented in (Table 6).
compost fertilizer, 10.0 tons/ha CMP gave the highest mean cumulative number of fruits per plant (4.00)Table 6: Effect of different levels of AMF and CMP on and 302.40 g/plant of weight of harvested.Therefore tomato height (cm) (Mean of two years).
the application of 5 tons/ha of Glomus clarum per pot could be recommended as the optimum level for the cultivation of tomato.Mycorrhizal fungi which serve as a means of improving sustainable production technology could be adopted to increase the efficiency of fertilization in order to improve growth and yield of tomato.
Pseudomonas fragii, Ps. leaves per plant at 12WAT.This result conform with gelluciudum, Aspergillus niger, Saccharomyces the observation made by Morales et al. (

Table 4 :
Effect of different levels of AMF and CMP on the number of branches per Plant (mean of two years)

Table 3 :
Effect of different levels of AMF and CMP on the number of leaves of tomato (mean of two years)