Effect of nano urea on growth and yield of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) in Bemetara district of Chhattisgarh

Introduction

India's diverse climate ensures the availability of all varieties of fresh fruit and vegetable. As per NHB (3 rd Advance estimates) published by NHB, during 2021-22, India produce 204.84 million metric tonnes of vegetables. (Anonymous, 2022) [1] . Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), a member of the Solanaceae family with a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 24, is an important crop cultivated worldwide under varied conditions such as open fields, greenhouses, net houses, and home gardens. Its popularity arises from versatile uses -fresh consumption in salads, as a cooked vegetable, and in processed products like soups, sauces, ketchups, pastes, and purees. Nutritionally, tomato is a rich source of vitamins, minerals, and organic acids, contributing significantly to human diet (Kumar et al., 2017) [7] . India is the second-largest producer of tomatoes after China, with 848.56 thousand hectares under cultivation, producing 20.40 million metric tonnes annually and an average productivity of 24.0 t/ha (Anonymous, 2024) [2] . Major tomato-producing states are Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, and Maharashtra. In Chhattisgarh, tomato covers 24.54 thousand hectares, yielding 590.15 thousand metric tonnes with an average of 24.04 t/ha. Key producing districts include Raipur, Durg, Bilaspur, Rajnandgaon, and Bemetara. Notably, Bemetara is emerging as a leading district due to improved practices and better market access. In 2022-23, it accounted for 2,502 hectares with a production of 520,040 quintals (Anonymous, 2024) [2] . Nitrogen is essential for chlorophyll, photosynthesis, vegetative growth, and is a component of enzymes and proteins regulating plant physiology (Narayan et al., 2012) [13] . Vegetable yield depends on fertilizer quality and quantity, but losses via leaching, runoff, and volatilization cause economic and environmental issues. Excessive chemical fertilizers also lead to soil pollution and heavy metal accumulation (Durlabh et al., 2025) [4] .

Nanotechnology, through nanoparticles (<100 nm), improves nutrient uptake and efficiency. Nano-urea enhances absorption via stomata and plasmodesmata, increasing nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), productivity (6-17%), and crop quality (Roushan et al., 2023). It provides controlled nutrient release and is environmentally safer than conventional fertilizers (Panda et al., 2020). In India, urea (46% N) is widely used, but losses reduce N availability and pollute soil and water (Nair et al., 2010) [12] . IFFCO's nano urea reduces conventional urea use by 50%, promotes growth, photosynthesis, and yield, with 2-4 ml L⁻¹ foliar application and >80% absorption efficiency (Mishra et al., 2020) [10] . Foliar nano-urea improves NUE, yield, and reduces input costs, though studies on tomato are limited. Tomato productivity depends on essential nutrients, especially nitrogen (Kumar et al., 2020) [8] .

Methods and Materials

Results and Discussion

Growth Parameters

The progression of plant height (Table 1, Fig. 1 2) revealed that the number of branches per plant increased with crop growth stages under different nutrient management practices. At 30 DAT, the maximum number of branches (2.07) was recorded in T₃, while the control had only 1.02. At 60 DAT, T₃ again produced the highest branches (8.49) compared to 4.18 in the control. Similarly, at 90 DAT, T₃ recorded 12.42 branches per plant, followed by T₆ (11.94), whereas the control had only 6.12. At harvest, the highest number of branches (14.49) was observed in T₃, followed by T₆ (13.93) and T₂ (12.25), while the minimum (7.14) was recorded in the control. These results clearly indicate that T₃ was the most effective treatment for improving branching, closely followed by T₆ due to efficient nitrogen utilization through basal and foliar application of Nano N.

Flowering and Fruiting Parameters

The number of flower clusters per plant, fruit sets per cluster, total flower clusters, and fruits per plant were significantly influenced by nutrient management involving Nano urea (Table 3, Fig. 3). Across all parameters, T₃ (100% RDF P₂O₅, K₂O + 50% N basal + 2 foliar sprays at

Yield Parameters

The fruit quality and yield of tomato were significantly influenced by nutrient management involving Nano urea (Table 4

References

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