Effect of Different Rates and Sources of Fertilizer on Yield and Antioxidant Components of Tomato (Lycopersicon lycopersicum)

Tomato (Lycopersicon lycopersicum) is an excellent source of many nutrients and secondary metabolites. Among all the nutrients contained in tomatoes, the most studied and important is lycopene, an antioxidant that has been linked with reduced risk of prostrate and various other forms of cancer. Lycopene can be affected by management practices during period of tomato production. Tomato crop was grown using organic manures and chemical fertilizers and the effect on the major carpometric and antioxidants components of open field grown tomato was investigated. The chicken manure was applied at the rate of 20 and 10 ton ha-1 while NPK 15-15-15 was applied at the rate of 120 and 60 kg N ha-1. The control was without any of the fertilizer. The result showed that 120 kg N ha-1 of NPK 15-15-15 fertilizer had the highest yield of 32.97 ton ha-1 while the lowest yield, 4.07 ton ha-1 was recorded in control which was without fertilizer. The titratable acidity and the lycopene content of tomatoes grown with 20 ton ha-1 of chicken manure were significantly higher (p<0.005) than those grown with other treatments. This result showed that nutrient sources play major roles in determining the levels of titratable acidity and the nutrient antioxidant component of tomatoes.