SUBSOILING AND BAND COW MANURE EFFECT ON YIELD OF PROCESSING TOMATOES

Tomato small vine size and low yield are frequently seen in the main cropping regions of Mendoza. Growth and yield reduction was related to smooth and shallow soil preparation with plough and harrow made just before planting. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of subsoiling different soils of the region with the addition of cow manure in band (CMB) on the production of tomato plants. Six soils from different places of Mendoza were subsoiled 0.7 m deep one, two and three times with and without the application of CMB 50 % humidity 150 kg/100 m. These treatments were compared with land not subsoiled with and without the addition of CMB. The design was complete randomized blocks (localities) with six replicates. Number and weight of fruits, foliar dry matter and, soil resistance measured by ring penetrometer were evaluated. The results indicated that any treatment was significantly better than the traditional crop management. CMB significantly increased the yield, particularly, due to number of fruits. Stability analysis separating compacted and non compacted soils showed that subsoiling effect was similar to CMB in compacted soils. However, subsoiling effect was not significant in soils non compacted. CMB effect on yield was attributed to an increment in available Phosphorous in soil from 3.6 to 17.2 ppm which promoted a better growth of naked-root transplanted seedlings from 0.82 to 2.85 g/pl 30 days after transplanting. The need of chemical fertilization in presence of CMB is discussed.