RESPONSE OF TOMATO TO NITROGEN LEVELS WITH OR WITHOUT HUMIC ACID

An experiment was conducted to study the response of tomato to nitrogen levels with or without Humic acid on yield and yield components of tomato `Advanta-1209` sown at New Developmental Farm ( Horticulture section),The University of Agriculture, Peshawar Pakistan, during summer 2011. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design with spilt plot arrangements having three replications. The experiment involved two factors, Humic acid (0 and 5 kg ha^-1) allotted to main plot and nitrogen (0, 25, 50, 75, 100, 125 and 150 kg ha^-1) kept in sub plots. . The results showed that leaf length (cm), plant height (cm), fruit weight (g), and yield (t ha^-1) were significantly affected, whereas survival percentage and blossom end rot to fruits were not significantly affected by Humic acid and nitrogen levels and interaction of both. High leaf length (6.43 cm), plant height (82.92 cm), fruit weight (75.27 gm) and yield (28.49 t ha^-1) were produced by Humic acid applied at the rate of 5 kg ha^-1 and maximum leaf length (6.88 cm), plant height (89.16 cm), fruit weight (78.82 gm) and yield (32.43 t ha-1) were recorded by nitrogen applied at the rate of 125 kg ha^-1. From this study it can be concluded that tomato plants should be treated with fertilizers, Humic acid and nitrogen at the rate of 5 kg and 125 kg ha^-1, respectively to obtain maximum and quality yield.