Synergistic effects of humic acid and boron on quantitative and qualitative traits of tomato

Abstract

In tropical climates, environmental stresses impose significant obstacle to growing tomato plants and achieving higher fruit yield and better quality. The external treatment of humic acid and boron has the potential to address these challenges in tomato production. However, the interaction effects of humic acid and boron in tomato cultivation is largely elucidate. This research aimed to evaluate the impacts of humic acid and boron on growth parameters, yield, and quality features of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.). The treatments were consisted of three levels humic acid (0, 50 and 100 ppm) and boron (0, 25 and 50 ppm) and they were foliar sprayed at the vegetative, flowering, and fruit setting stages. The results revealed that combined application of humic acid and boron potentially improved the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of tomato plants over control.  The maximum plant height (121.10 cm), the dry weight of each plant (46.72 g), fruit diameter (6.1 cm), single fruit weight (70.4 g), yield per plant (4.45 kg) were observed in combined treatment of 100 ppm humic acid with 25 ppm boron at mature stage. Furthermore, TSS (4.90 °B), total sugar (5.06 mg), vitamin C (21.35 mg), protein (3.11%), ash (0.69 mg), lycopene (4.97 mg), and sodium (6.96 mg) content were higher in 100 ppm humic acid with 25 ppm boron as compared to control at mature stage. These findings revealed that the combined foliar application of humic acid with boron could be practical approach for increasing tomato production and improving quality traits of tomato in subtropical climatic regions