Ergonomics and productivity of tomatoes in Tuta absoluta infested areas of Kano State, Nigeria

Nine tomato cultivars: ‘Tropimech’ (T₁), ‘Carl J’ (T₂), ‘Peto 86’ (T₃), ‘Roma’ (T₄), ‘UC82B’ (T₅), ‘Chibli’ (T₆), ‘Heinz’ (T₇), ‘NI’ (T₈) and ‘RIO’ (T₉) were evaluated for energy use efficiency, economic analysis, residue deposits, agronomic efficiency, nutrient tolerance and yield performance in a Tuta absoluta infested area in Kano, northwest Nigeria. The aim was to develop strategies for redressing yield losses caused by the tomato leaf miner (Tuta absoluta). Seedlings were transplanted December 22, 2015, into irrigation basins and received fertilizer at 0, 170, 200, 230 and 260 kg ha^-1 of N-P-K (20-10-10). Irrigation was supplied at 11 m³ water h^-1. The total energy budget for the production of the cultivars was 112,180.55 MJ ha^-1. Fertilizer application accounted for 41.2% of the energy input. Energy use efficiency was generally low. ‘Carl J’, ‘Roma’_, ‘UC82B’, ‘Chibli’ and ‘Heinz’ had agronomic efficiency of 8.05, 14.10, 2.38, 4.53, and 13.96, respectively. The corresponding fruit yield was 20.6, 24.8, 19.4, 20.1 and 24.4 t ha^-1, respectively. The highest TOLN (nutrient limited tolerance) occurred in ‘Roma’ followed by ‘Heinz’, ‘Chibli’ and ‘Carl J’ showing tendency for early segregation, although exhibiting better yield performance than cultivars with more stable traits. ‘Carl J’, ‘Roma’, ‘Chibli’ and ‘Heinz’ were more desirable for production and recommended for further improvement.