Morphological and Yield Evaluation of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) Varieties under Organic and Inorganic Fertilisation in Minna, Niger State

Tomato is an economically critical vegetable crop in North Central Nigeria, and evaluating variety response to fertiliser type under the sub-humid conditions of Minna, Niger State, provides practical guidance for smallholder production. This study evaluated morphological and yield parameters of four tomato varieties (Roma VF, Rio Grande, UC82B, and Tropimech) under organic (poultry manure at 10 t/ha), inorganic (NPK 15:15:15 at 300 kg/ha), and combined (half dose of each) fertilisation treatments in a factorial experiment arranged in a randomised complete block design with three replications. Morphological characters including plant height, stem diameter, number of branches, leaf area, and days to flowering were recorded at two-week intervals. Yield parameters included number of fruits per plant, mean fruit weight, marketable yield, and total yield per hectare. ANOVA at 5% significance level and Duncan's Multiple Range Test were used for analysis. Results showed that Roma VF under combined fertilisation produced the highest total yield (34.2 t/ha), which was significantly greater than all other treatment combinations. Organic fertilisation alone produced yields comparable to inorganic treatment in all varieties. Days to first flowering was earliest under inorganic fertilisation across varieties. Stem diameter and leaf area showed significant variety by fertiliser treatment interaction. The study concludes that combined organic-inorganic fertilisation is optimal for tomato production in Minna conditions and recommends the Roma VF variety for adoption by smallholder tomato farmers in Niger State.

Keywords: tomato, fertilisation, yield evaluation, Solanum lycopersicum, Niger State