Organic vs. Conventional Fertilization: Soil Nutrient Availability, Production, and Quality of Tomato Fruit

Rodríguez-Ortiz, J. C.; Díaz-Flores, P. E.; Zavala-Sierra, D.; Preciado-Rangel, P.; Rodríguez-Fuentes, H.; Estrada-González, A. J.; Carballo-Méndez, F. J.

Organic vs. Conventional Fertilization: Soil Nutrient Availability, Production, and Quality of Tomato Fruit

2022

This study was conducted to compare organic fertilization (OF) with conventional fertilization (CF) in tomato crop with respect to the following specific objectives: (i) to evaluate the contents of applied and available nutrients in the soil; (ii) to evaluate the production, commercial, and nutraceutical quality of tomato fruit; and (iii) to study the relationship of the contents of available nutrients in the soil with the variables affecting the production and quality of tomato fruits. Four treatments were established: OF (1) 6 t ha⁻¹ poultry manure + poultry manure tea and (2) 9 t ha⁻¹ poultry manure + poultry manure tea; CF (3) 180–90-00 and (4) 270–135-00 (N, P₂O₅, and K₂O, respectively). The results show that OF contributed more available nutrients to the soil than CF. OF promoted more fruit yield than CF, as well as more total phenol and antioxidant content in fruits. The higher the doses applied, within each form of fertilization, the higher the agronomic yield, but fruit quality and antioxidant capacity were not affected. The soil variables that were most strongly related to total phenols and antioxidants in tomato fruit were soil available Mn, pH, and electrical conductivity. Both forms of fertilization, organic and conventional fertilization, are different in terms of applied and available nutrients in the soil that nourish the plants and have a consequent effect on the antioxidant capacity of the fruit.

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