The Effects of Different Watering Levels on the Physiology of Two Varieties of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) in Nigeria

Abstract

A greenhouse experiment was conducted to ascertain the effects of different watering levels on the physiology of two varieties of tomato cultivated in different parts of Nigeria. The Beske (round) variety cultivated in Kajola and the Hausa (oblong) variety cultivated in Sokoto. These varieties were planted, using Randomized Complete Block Design, on the same day and given different watering regimes in intervals of: one, two, four, six and eight days respectively. Plant height and leaf area were used to determine the physiological effect of this treatment. Analysis of variance was used to analyze the data collected _α=0.05. Results show that the Beske variety adapted more to all the watering regimes, whether much or little with no significant difference (p>0.05) between treatments. The Sokoto variety on the other hand showed significant difference in the plant height and leaf area between treatments (p<0.05). There was no growth at all in the Every Day Watering (EDW) treatment.

Keywords: Tomato, variety, watering, greenhouse.