International Journal of Horticulture, 2025, Vol.15, No.6, 267-278 http://hortherbpublisher.com/index.php/ijh 275 conditions for initial growth. By 20 DAS, Cocopeat + Soil + Vermicompost (0.993 g) maintained its top position, followed by Vermicompost + FYM + Soil + Cocopeat (0.813 g) and Vermicompost + Soil (0.703 g), all of which showed moderate to high fresh biomass. Vermicompost (0.39 g) again recorded the lowest fresh weight, underlining its continued inadequacy in supporting early seedling development. The coefficient of variation (CV%) at this stage was relatively high (17.7%), suggesting some variability among replications, likely due to differences in water retention and seedling vigor. At 30 DAS, although Cocopeat + Soil + Vermicompost (1.59 g) and Vermicompost + FYM + Soil + Cocopeat (1.12 g) showed numerically higher fresh weights, the differences among treatments were not statistically significant, as indicated by the non-significant F-test. This suggests that by the later stages of seedling development, fresh weight differences among media diminish, potentially due to compensatory growth responses or uniform environmental conditions mitigating early differences. 3.2.6 Dry weight The dry weight of tomato seedlings was highly significantly affected by the growing media at all three stages (10, 20, and 30 DAS) ( p< 0.001), indicating a consistent and strong influence of substrate composition on actual biomass accumulation after moisture loss. At 10 DAS, the highest dry weight was recorded in Soil + Cocopeat (T5, 0.037 g), followed closely by FYM + Soil (T4, 0.025 g) and Soil (T3, 0.022 g). Interestingly, although Cocopeat + Soil + Vermicompost (T8) and Vermicompost + FYM + Soil + Cocopeat (T9) had the highest fresh weights, their dry weights were lower (0.018 g and 0.019 g, respectively), suggesting a higher water content rather than true biomass accumulation. The lowest dry weight (0.008 g) was observed in Vermicompost (T1), which showed statistically significant inferiority. At 20 DAS, Soil + Cocopeat (T5, 0.053 g) again recorded the highest dry weight, significantly outperforming all other treatments, followed by FYM + Soil (T4, 0.036 g) and Soil (T3, 0.029 g). This demonstrates the persistent advantage of Soil + Cocopeat in promoting structural biomass accumulation. Vermicompost (T1, 0.016 g) remained the lowest performer, consistent with earlier observations. By 30 DAS, Soil + Cocopeat (T5, 0.069 g) maintained its superiority with the highest dry weight, significantly higher than all other treatments. FYM + Soil (T4, 0.047 g) and Soil (T3, 0.044 g) also showed good performance. In contrast, Vermicompost (T1, 0.025 g) again recorded the least dry biomass, indicating long-term suppression of growth in this medium. 4 Discussion The results of this study clearly demonstrate that the composition of germination and growing media significantly influences tomato seed germination, vigor, and early seedling development, including stem, leaf, root, shoot, and biomass attributes. Treatments incorporating a mixture of organic amendments such as vermicompost and farmyard manure (FYM) with inert components like cocopeat and soil consistently outperformed single-component media across most parameters. For instance, the highest germination percentage (98.95%) and vigor index (2601.39) were obtained in the Vermicompost + FYM + Soil + Cocopeat treatment, highlighting the synergistic effect of organic and inert substrates in providing balanced nutrient availability, aeration, moisture retention, and microbial activity, which create an optimal environment for seed emergence and sustained growth (Arancon et al., 2006; Çelebi, 2019; Ali et al., 2020). This aligns with findings by Banjade et al. (2023) and Chopra et al. (2017), who reported that nutrient-rich and physically stable substrates enhance germination, vigor, and seedling architecture through improved root-shoot signaling, hormone activity, and microbial support. Although soil alone showed the highest germination speed (39.76), it produced relatively lower vigor index (1502.26) and biomass accumulation, suggesting that rapid germination initiation without sustained nutrient and moisture support is insufficient for robust seedling performance. Similarly, treatments like Vermicompost + Soil recorded the highest germination energy (36.58), supporting early and uniform germination due to nutrient richness and microbial stimulation, whereas combinations like Vermicompost + Cocopeat or Vermicompost + FYM + Soil + Cocopeat displayed slightly slower germination speed, likely due to gradual hydration but ultimately resulting in stronger, more uniform seedlings (Atif et al., 2016).
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