Growth and yield of cherry tomato as a function of the application of liquid biofertilizer and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi

Abstract

The use of organic compounds in tomato crop (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), together with the use of the mycorrhizal association is an alternative to supplement the nutrient demand and reduce the production costs from the use of chemical commercial fertilizers. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of the application of liquid biofertilizer and the association with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in the development and yield of the cherry tomato. An experiment was carried out in a dystrophic Yellow Argisol in the Academic Unit of Agrarian Sciences of the Federal university of Rio Grande do Norte, in the municipal district of Macaíba, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The experiment was arranged in a randomized block design, with four replications, in a factorial 2x3 scheme, corresponding to 2 treatments involving arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (doses of 0.0 and 3.0 g inoculum/plant) and 3 treatments involving biofertilizer applications (doses of 0.0, 2.5 and 5.0%). The application of liquid biofertilizer and the inoculation with Glomus fasciculatum Gerd. & Trappe increased biomass and fruit yield of the cherry tomato.