Effect of Staking on Growth and Yield of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) Varieties in Edo Humid Forest Zone, Nigeria

Abstract

Staking or trellising means fastening the plants with upright stakes with the help of plant ties. These stakes provide support and strength to the top-heavy plants and allow them to continue growing skyward without letting rain, high winds, and the weight of flowers or fruits overcome them. Many plants, as they mature, need support to help them grow. This is especially true of tomato plants and such climbing plants as beans, cucumbers, and winter squash. As tomato plants mature, they begin to sprawl along the ground because they become heavy with fruit. Therefore, the objective of this investigation was to find out the effect of staking on the growth and yield of six tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill) varieties (UC82, Bufalo, Cobra, Roma VF, Tropimech and Roma savanna) in the Edo humid forest zone of Nigeria using appropriate standard techniques. Results on vegetative and fruit traits showed positive response in plant height of staked plants compared to the non- staked plants while the number of leaves increased with the non-staked plants. Tropimech variety significantly reduced fruit weight per plant (102.83 g and 127.66 g) and fruit yield (2200.54 kg ha ^-1 and 2412.82 kg ha ^-1) compared with the other tomato varieties and staking had no significant effect on tomato fruit yield. This study recommends that farmers in the study area could grow any of these tomato (UC82, Bufalo, Cobra, Roma VF, and Roma savanna) varieties with or without staking for increased growth and fruit yield of tomato.