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ABSTRACT
Tomato plant (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most widely grown vegetables in the world. It is native to South America and is widely grown in tropical regions of Africa and parts of the Middle East. Bat guano, a nutrient-rich organic material from bat excreta, is an eco-friendly and sustainable alternative to synthetic fertilizer. This study investigated the impact of bat guano supplemented soils on the growth of Tomato. Employing a completely randomized block design, 5 treatment groups with varying weights of bat guano application were applied to 4Kg soil samples left for one week in the field for acclimatization before the study commenced. The study was a potted experiment. The various morphological parameters measured were the germination, number of leaves, plant height and stem girth. The physiological parameters were carotenoid, lycopene, chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b content, proline and nitrate reductase activity.The results obtained from the physiological parameters show that the plants grown in the 100g bat guano supplemented soils recorded the highest values for carotenoid, proline, lycopene and total chlorophyll content. The result obtained showed that using bat guano as an organic fertilizer has a positive influence on enhancing the growth of tomato plants. The plants grown in 200g bat guano supplemented soils had the highest average values for all morphological parameters measured in the plant. For example, plant height values recorded for plants grown in 200g bat guano supplemented soils were 18.67±1.61cm compared to the average values recorded for the plants grown in the control soils, 16.37±1.02cm. Literary findings gave insight on the importance of timing while using bat guano as an effective fertilizer as enhancement was recorded after preceded slow growth. This was attributed to the gradual release of nutrients as the guano decomposes in the soil. These results suggest that bat guano is a suitable organic fertilizer for tomato cultivation. Further investigations are recommended to investigate the yield of tomatoes attributed to bat guano application in comparison with the yield from the control pots.
