TABLE OF CONTENT

CHAPTER
1 INTRODUCTION
Background of the study 1
Statement of the Problem 1
Significance of the study 2
Scope and Limitations of the study 2
Operational Definition of terms 2

II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 3

Conceptual framework 4
Hypothesis of the study 5

III METHODOLOGY 6
Research design 6
Locale of the study 6
Variable of the study 6
Cultural management 6
Data gathering procedure 8
Cost and return analysis 9
 Mariano Marcos State University

College of Agriculture, Food & Sustainable Development

Department of Agricultural Sciences

City of Batac, Ilocos Norte

APPLYING VERMICOMPOST ON THE GROWTH PERFORMANCE ON THE

TOMATO IN THE CITY OF PASUQUIN, ILOCOS NORTE.

Researchers:

DAN JERALD M. PASCUA

VALERIE V. PATRICIO

BSA 3-B Horticulture

 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

Background of Study

Tomato belongs to the Family Solanaceae and originated from Tropical America. It is an annual
herbaceous plant, stems are soft, brittle and hairy when young, hard and woody when old. The 5-
16 inches long leaves are alternately arranged. Flowers are borne in clusters and the fruit has two
to many celled-berries. The seeds are kidney-shaped covered with short hair (Rosales, 2013).
Tomato is an important crop for Ilocano growers. However, high production yield is not easily
achieved. Tomato production requires highly intensive management, production and marketing
skills, and significant investment (Salvador, 2017)

Vermicompost is the product of a composting process through the utilization of various species
of worms, to create a heterogeneous mixture of decomposing organic materials. Vermicast, also
known as the product of organic matter breakdown by earthworms. Vermicomposting gained
popularity both in the industrial and domestic settings because it provides a way to compost
organic materials more quickly as compared with conventional composting (as defined by a
higher rate of carbon-to nitrogen ratio) and to attain products that have lower salinity levels that
are therefore more beneficial to plant mediums (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermicompost).
Organic manures are slow leaching and have to be applied in bulk because of their lower N, P
and K content. Applying organic fertilizer like vermicompost in bulk raises economic concerns
in the minds of farmers who wish to operate for organic farming. It has been observed that there
is no significant difference on applying higher doses of vermicompost and lowest dose (5t/ha).
Thus, vermicompost application is cost effective. Moreover, it may take more than two years for
an organic farm to improve the soil health enough to make the growth and yield equivalent to
chemical fertilizers. In India, thousands of tons of grains got destroyed every year due to lack of
storage facilities. If proper storage facilities are provided, the yield loss which occurs during
initial years in an organic farm may be recovered. Moreover, consumer health, harmful effects of
agrochemical and over-populations are bigger issues than yield loss. So, the result of related
studies proves economic viability of applying vermicompost. (http://www.ijrowa.com).

Statement of the Problem

Farmers are dependent on the use of fertilizer materials to improve their crop performance, to
improved more the quality growth performance of tomato will be applied.
Generally, this study focusses on determining the effects of applying of vermicompost on the
tomato.
1. determine the growth and yield of tomato using the application of vermicompost
2. evaluate the profitability of tomato production;
3. identify the problems encountered during the production stage; and
4. apply the skills and values for successful production of tomato.

Significant of the Study

Ultimately, farmers specifically tomato growers will be benefited from the results of the study.
Indeed, better concentration of Applying Vermicompost that gives high yield tends to have
higher income due to the good quality of performance tomato produce as well. The results of the
study can provide information and can contribute in the economic as pectasit produces a better
quality of tomato fruit. The researcher can also use the results as their reference material and
Extension workers could disseminated the results to their clienteles.

Scope and Limitation of the Study

The study was conducted focusing on the effect of Applying Vermicompost on the growth
performance of tomato. One site was established (10m²) at City of Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte for
one cropping season only a done variety was tested. The study was conducted with Randomize
Complete Block Design (RCBD).

Operational Definition of Terms

 Vermicompost- Vermicompost is the product of a composting process through

the utilization of various species of worms, to create a heterogeneous mixture of
decomposing organic materials.

 Tomato – is the edible berry of the plant Solanum Lycopersicom, commonly as a

tomato.

 Organic- produced or involving production without the use of chemical

fertilizers, pesticides or other artificial agents.

 Growth Performance- the pertains to the physical changes of the plant

 Yield Performance- is defined as the ratio of the hybrid performance to the

benchmark in that environment

 Organic- produced or involving production without the use of chemical

fertilizers, pesticides or other artificial agents.

  Growth Performance- the pertains to the physical changes of the plant

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This study will conduct to determine the Growth Performance of Tomato as affected by

Vermicompost on the growth of different vegetables and to find out which among the different

vegetables will give the best growth performance when applied with organic fertilizers.

An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of vermicompost on growth, yield and

fruit quality of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum var. Super Beta) in a field condition. The

experiment was a randomized complete block design with four replications. The different rates

of vermicompost (0, 5, 10 and 15 t ha-1) was incorporated into the top 15 cm of soil. During

experiment period, fruits were harvested twice in a week and total yield were recorded for two

months. At the end of experiment, growth characteristics such as leaf number, leaf area and

shoot dry weights were determined. The results revealed that addition of vermicompost at rate of

15 t ha-1 significantly (at p<0.05) increased growth and yield compared to control.

Vermicompost with rate of 15 t ha-1 increased EC of fruit juice and percentage of fruit dry

matter up to 30 and 24%, respectively. The content of K, P, Fe and Zn in the plant tissue

increased 55, 73, 32 and 36% compared to untreated plots respectively. The result of our

experiment showed addition of vermicompost had significant (p<0.05) positive effects on

growth, yield and elemental content of plant as compared to control.

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) is one of the most widely grown vegetables in Liaoning

Province, where the tomato-growing area encompassed more than 85,000 hectares in 2014 (Zhao

et al., 2015). However, determining how to improve tomato quality without reducing fruit yield

remains an urgent unsolved problem. The use of organic farming with organic amendments as

nutrient inputs to the soil is currently increasing, and organic farming is becoming an alternative

agricultural practice to sustain economic vegetable production with minimal environmental

pollution and higher fruit quality.

Tomato yield and quality using soils with different tomato planting history. Four types of

fertilization regimes were compared: (1) conventional fertilizer with urea, (2) chicken manure

compost, (3) vermicompost, and (4) no fertilizer. The effects on plant growth, yield and fruit

quality and soil properties (including microbial biomass carbon and nitrogen, NH+4-N, NO−3-

N, soil water-soluble organic carbon, soil pH and electrical conductivity) were investigated in

samples collected from the experimental soils at different tomato growth stages. The main results

showed that: (1) vermicompost and chicken manure compost more effectively promoted plant

growth, including stem diameter and plant height compared with other fertilizer treatments, in all

three types of soil; (2) vermicompost improved fruit quality in each type of soil, and increased

the sugar/acid ratio, and decreased nitrate concentration in fresh fruit compared with the CK

treatment; (3) vermicompost led to greater improvements in fruit yield (74%), vitamin C (47%),

and soluble sugar (71%) in soils with no tomato planting history compared with those in soils

with long tomato planting history; and (4) vermicompost led to greater improvements in soil

quality than chicken manure compost, including higher pH (averaged 7.37 vs. averaged 7.23)

and lower soil electrical conductivity (averaged 204.1 vs. averaged 234.6 μS/cm) at the end of
experiment in each type of soil. We conclude that vermicompost can be recommended as a

fertilizer to improve tomato fruit quality and yield and soil quality, particularly for soils with no

tomato planting history.

Conceptual Framework

The growth performance of tomato by applying the vermicompost could have a big

impact to the crop of tomato. These fertilizers can supply the nutrients needed if apply properly.

The Vermicompost is the main concerns of researchers to change the growth performance of

tomato as well as the building healthier soil.

Independent Variables
Dependent Variables

 Improve growth
Vermicompost development
 Increase nutrients
in the soil

Fig. 1. Conceptual paradigm of the study

 Hypothesis of the study

Based on the conceptual framework the following hypothesis will be tested:

1. There are significant on the Growth Performance of using Vermicompost on the applying
of the Tomato

2. There are significant differences on the main effect of Vermicompost concentration on

the growth of the Tomato

3. There are significantly higher net income and profit obtained with the use of organic

fertilizer.

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

Research Design

This study will be conducted at Brgy 29 San Juan Pasuquin Ilocos Norte. Its respondents

will be randomly selected farmers in San Juan. Data will gather from them through a field
experimental unit. After which, gathered data will be analyze and measure with the use of

statistical method. And it will be rank based what percentage it shows.

Locale of the study

The study was be conducted at Brgy San Juan Pasuququin Ilocos Norte. The location is

considered as lowland and the source of water for irrigation is from a swallow tube well and will

using a water pump. This area is commonly planted tomato.

Variable of the study

This experiment will be use of the applying Vermicompost.

Cultural Management

Land Preparation

`This experiment area used was about 110m2 was prepared by removing weeds, clearing

and plowing with a mechanized tractor. The field was rotavated twice in order to pulverize and

level the soil properly for a better crop growth.

Sowing of seeds

Starts seeds in flats or peat pots 8-9 weeks prior to the last spring frost date. Seeds

germinate quickly at temperatures between 70 to 90F. alternatively, buy 6-to 8-week-old

transplants just before planting

Transplanting

Tomato seedling was ready for transplanting three weeks after sowing. One seedling per

hill planted at a distance of 0.75 cm between rows and 0.50 m between hills. This was done late

in the afternoon to minimize the transplanting shock.

Preparation and Application of Vermicompost

Vermicompost can be used to increase the fruiting process of plants as well as to increase

yield in some leafy green vegetables.

Irrigation

Irrigation was done after transplanting. Succeeding irrigation was done as the need arose

to supply the needed moisture of the crop.

Weed Management

Hand weeding was done to minimize the growth of weeds that completed with the crop

nutrients, light and moisture. Weeding was done during the growing season.

Harvesting

Started at 6 WATS, depending on the variety and the intended use of the fruits. The fruit

were harvested as soon as they attained satisfactory in size, shiny. Manual harvesting was done

usually done twice a week.

Data Gathering Procedure

Days to flowerings

This was gathered from transplanting until the time when the plants produced flowers.

Days of fruit initiation.

This was taken when then flower turns to fruit.

Days to maturity

This was taken when fruit has been mature.

Height of Tomato.

This was gathered by measuring the height of 12 randomly selected sample taken from

the ground level to the tip of the terminal growing point at 30 and 65 DAT using a meter stick.

Weight of marketable Tomato.

This was taken by counting the number of fruits per kilogram that has no damaged from

1st priming to 10th priming.

Weight of non-marketable Tomato.

This was taken by counting the number of fruits per kilogram that over matured from 1st

priming to 10th priming.

Data Analysis and Interpretation

All the data gathered wire statistically analyzed using the analysis of variance (ANOVA)

for Randomized Complete Block Design. Treatment means of parameters that showed significant

result were compared by using the Least Significant Difference (LSD).

 Cost and Return Analysis

The cost of production was computed based on the current prices of inputs and labor cost

during the conduct of the study. It was computed by subtracting the total cost of the production

from the gross income to obtain the net income.

LITERATURE CITED

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermicompost.

http://www.ijrowa.com.
http://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpls.2017.01978/full
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato
https://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=PH2013000084Growth and yield

performance of different vegetables applied with organic fertilizers [2010] https: //