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PRINT ISSN : 2319-7692
Online ISSN : 2319-7706 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcmas@gmail.com / submit@ijcmas.com Editor-in-chief: Dr.M.Prakash Index Copernicus ICV 2018: 95.39 NAAS RATING 2020: 5.38 |
Seedlings growth and development of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) as influenced by various container size was evaluated at Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (formerly Botswana College of Agriculture) from March-April 2015. Propagation containers with different cell sizes (volumes of 18.5 cm3, 65 cm3 and 170 cm3 being treatments) were used. The experiment was laid as a completely randomized design (CRD) with four repetitions. Tomato seedlings were grown in a net shade house of 80%. The following growth and development parameters were recorded; plant height, leaf number and area, and shoot fresh and dry weights. Data was subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA). Plant height showed a non-significant (p˃0.05) difference in response to treatments in the first three weeks followed by a highly significant (p<0.01) response in the fourth week. The latter response was revealed for leaf number and area, and shoot fresh and dry weights except for a significant (p<0.05) response in week two for leaf number. Generally bigger (170 cm3) cells significantly enhanced the performance of the seedlings as compared to smaller (18.5 cm3) cells. As a result the bigger cells are recommended as the most desirable containers for quality seedlings.