Nutrient management practices of processing-type and table-type tomato farmers in Ilocos Provinces [Philippines]

Nutrient management involves three main aspects: kind of fertilizer, amount and timing of application. In Ilocos provinces [Philippines], farmers generally plant processing- and table-type tomato. The farmers' nutrient management practices vary in terms of type and amount of fertilizer, which is partly dependent on tomato type. Processing-type tomato farmers are encouraged to follow the rate recommended by Northern Foods Corporation, a government-owned tomato processing plant in the region. This study assessed the nutrient management practices of farmers in Ilocos provinces through a series of surveys in major tomato-growing municipalities. Majority of processing-type tomato farmers apply complete fertilizer as basal, and side-dress with muriate of potash and either ammonium sulfate (Ilocos Norte) or ammonium phosphate (Ilocos Sur). More than 80% of farmers also spray foliar fertilizer at flowering stage in both provinces. The amount of fertilizer applied varies widely from farmer to farmer despite NFC recommendations. Nutrient application ranges extremely from 0 kg N, P or K to as high as 358 kg P and 900 kg K ha-1. On the average, application rate is 110-34-99 kg NPK/ha in Ilocos Norte and 123-57-151 kg NPK/ha in Ilocos Sur, which are either lower or higher than the NFC recommendation (116-40-120 kg NPK/ha), respectively. On the other hand, most table-type tomato farmers basally apply ammonium sulfate and ammonium phosphate as source of nitrogen and phosphorus, and side-dress muriate of potash. Foliar fertilizer application at flowering is also practiced in both Ilocos Sur (73%) and Ilocos Norte (57%). While table-type tomato farmers generally apply less than their processing-type counterparts, their fertilizer rate ranges are also extremes, with an average of 106-21-68 kg NPK/ha for Ilocos Norte and 120-36-109 kg NPK/ha for Ilocos Sur, which are both lower than the PCAARRD [Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development] blanket recommendation for tomatoes (165-95-215 kg NPK/ha).