Effect of town waste and fertilizer on growth and heavy metal concentration of tomato plant

Abstract

The effect of town waste (TW) and inorganic fertilizer on growth and heavy metal concentration of tomato was studied in the greenhouse. The town waste was applied at the rate of 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40 tons ha-1 singly or in combination with either ¼, or ½ fertilizer recommended rate for tomato. Other treatments were full fertilizer recommended rate (110 kgN, 45 kg P2O5, 45 kg K2O) and control – no addition of waste and fertilizer.  Results showed that the treatments have significant effect on plant height and dry matter yield (DMY).  Plant tissue analysis gave 39.33 – 94.53, 40.60 – 82.20, 68.9 - 213.9 and 0.40 – 0.83 mgkg-1 for Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd respectively.  Town waste at 40 tons ha-1 with or without fertilizer gave high concentrations of Zn and Pb.  The concentrations of Pb and Cu are above the permissible level, while that of Zn and Cd are below.  The full fertilizer treatment gave the highest plant height and DYM, followed by 40 tons ha-1 waste + ¼ fertilizer dose, but there is no statistical difference between the two treatments.