Effect of substrates formulated with organic materials on yielding, commercial and phytochemical quality, and benefit-cost ratio of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) produced under greenhouse conditions

Summary

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of substrates formulated with different blends of sand-solarized manure and sand-vermicompost over yield, commercial and phytochemical quality of greenhouse tomatoes, and in addition to determine their benefit-cost (B/C) ratio for organic production of tomato. Six substrates were established consisting in blends of sand with 20, 30 or 40% of solarized manure (SM20, SM30 and SM40), and 20, 30 and 40% of vermicompost (VC20, VC30 and VC40), and control (TA) of sand fertilized with Steiner solution. Fruit yielding, commercial (fruit size, equatorial and longitudinal diameter, firmness, and soluble solids content), and nutraceutical quality (phenolic and lycopene content) were evaluated. In addition, cost-benefit (B/C) ratio of treatments w