International Journal of Horticulture, 2025, Vol.15, No.6, 267-278 http://hortherbpublisher.com/index.php/ijh 273 Table 5 Effect of different germination media on the fresh weight and dry weight of tomato Treatments Fresh weight (gm) Dry weight (gm) 10DAS 20DAS 30DAS 10DAS 20DAS 30DAS T1 0.163d 0.39c 0.576b 0.008d 0.016d 0.025d T2 0.36bc 0.473c 0.833b 0.017c 0.024cd 0.037bcd T3 0.436b 0.61bc 0.886ab 0.022bc 0.029bc 0.044bc T4 0.436b 0.613bc 0.93ab 0.025b 0.036b 0.047b T5 0.25cd 0.513bc 0.69b 0.037a 0.053a 0.069a T6 0.486b 0.703abc 0.953ab 0.02c 0.027c 0.036bcd T7 0.373bc 0.663bc 1.016ab 0.017c 0.024c 0.034cd T8 0.786a 0.993a 1.59a 0.018c 0.025c 0.034cd T9 0.666a 0.813ab 1.12ab 0.019c 0.025c 0.032bc Grandmean 0.440 0.641 0.955 0.020 0.029 0.040 CV% 11.1 17.7 12.0 16.3 18.0 14.1 SEM(±) 0.11 0.18 0.36 0.05 0.05 0.05 LSD(0.05) 0.177 0.330 0.702 0.054 0.058 0.061 F test *** ** NS *** *** *** Note: ***Significant at 0.1 % level of significance, **Significant at 1% level of significance, *Significant at 5 % level of significance, DAS: Day After Sowing, CV: Coefficient of variance, SEM: standard error mean 3.2.1 Stem diameter The effect of different growing media on the stem diameter of tomato seedlings was statistically significant at 10 days after sowing (DAS) ( p< 0.05), while at 20 DAS and 30 DAS, the observed differences among treatments were statistically non-significant ( p> 0.05), suggesting that early-stage stem growth is more responsive to media variation than later stages. At 10 DAS, the maximum stem diameter (0.236 cm) was observed in Vermicompost, closely followed by Vermicompost + Soil (0.233 cm). Both treatments were significantly superior to Cocopeat (0.173 cm) and Soil + Cocopeat (0.16 cm), which recorded the lowest stem diameters at this stage. Treatments Soil (0.213 cm), FYM + Soil (0.19 cm), Vermicompost + Cocopeat (0.206 cm), Cocopeat + Soil + Vermicompost (0.216 cm), and Vermicompost + FYM + Soil + Cocopeat (0.206 cm) were statistically comparable to each other and occupied intermediate positions. At 20 DAS, the highest stem diameter (0.34 cm) was recorded in Cocopeat + Soil + Vermicompost, followed by Vermicompost (0.3 cm) and Vermicompost + Soil (0.293 cm). However, these differences were not statistically significant, as indicated by the F-test. The lowest value at this stage was still observed in Cocopeat (0.22 cm). A similar non-significant trend continued at 30 DAS, where stem diameter ranged from 0.32 cm (Cocopeat) to 0.36 cm (Cocopeat + Soil + Vermicompost), with most treatments clustering tightly around the grand mean of 0.338 cm. These findings suggest that while growing media influence early stem thickening, this effect becomes less distinguishable as the plants mature, possibly due to compensatory growth or uniform environmental conditions in the later stages. The CV% for stem diameter ranged between 17.7% and 18.3%, and the SEM values were fairly low, indicating moderate consistency among replicates. The LSD at 10 DAS (0.452) further confirms that the observed differences among a few treatments were statistically meaningful at the early stage only. 3.2.2 Number of leaves The number of leaves per plant showed a highly significant response to growing media across all three stages of observation (10, 20, and 30 DAS), with p < 0.01, demonstrating a strong and consistent influence of media composition on leaf initiation and expansion. At 10 DAS, the highest number of leaves (12.10) was recorded in Cocopeat + Soil + Vermicompost, followed by Vermicompost + FYM + Soil + Cocopeat (10.40) and FYM + Soil (9.60). These treatments were significantly superior to the rest, with Vermicompost (5.40) exhibiting the lowest number of leaves, followed by Cocopeat (6.20) and Soil + Cocopeat (6.50). This early vegetative response suggests that Cocopeat + Soil + Vermicompost, likely comprising a nutrient-rich or well-aerated substrate, favored rapid early growth. At 20 DAS, the superior performance of Cocopeat + Soil + Vermicompost (15.77) was again evident, with Vermicompost + FYM + Soil + Cocopeat (15.0) closely following. Both treatments were significantly better than all other treatments. Vermicompost + Soil (12.47) and FYM + Soil (11.60) also
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