Effectiveness of Hydrogel Application on Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) Growth and some Sandy Soil Chemical Properties under Drip Irrigation System

Document Type : Original Article

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Soil and Water Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Suez Canal University, 41522 Ismailia, Egypt

Abstract

: A field experiment was conducted at the experimental site of Faculty of Agriculture of Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt, to evaluate the effect of hydrogel addition on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) growth and some soil chemical properties. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design having six treatments with three replicates as follow: control, two hydrogel levels (HG1, 2 g plant-1 and HG2, 4 g plant-1), recommended fertilizers for tomato (F) and combination of hydrogel and half amounts of recommended fertilizers (HG1+0.5 F and HG2+0.5 F). The obtained results showed that hydrogel application to plants with 4 g hydrogel + half the recommended amount of fertilizer (HG2+0.5 F) enhanced nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) content of fruits. The highest value of root dry weight was obtained with the treatment (HG1+0.5 F). Also, the highest dry weight of the shoots was in the case of treatments (HG1+0.5 F) and (HG2+0.5 F). The highest weight of fruits was recorded in the treatment of 4 g hydrogel plant-1 (HG2). Also, adding 2 g plant-1 (HG1) hydrogel and 4 g plant-1 (HG2) reducing pH ranged between 0.08-0.18 units. The addition of hydrogel at the rate of (4 g plant-1) with half of the recommended amounts of fertilizers (HG2+0.5 F) led to an increase in the value of the soil cation exchange capacity (CEC) from 9.30±0.12 to 11.5±0.12 and increased available nutrients from 3.47±0.15 to 15.8±0.9, 21±1.5 to 78±1.5 and 283±4 to 343±23 mgkg-1, for N, P and K, respectively

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