Composting effects ofPongamia pinnataon tomato fertilization

In the present investigation, tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.) was grown in garden soil amended with increasing concentrations (0%, 1%, 2% and 3%) of composted de-oiled seed cake of Pongamia pinnata (karanj) in order to study the effect on morphological (length of plant, leaves per plant, number of flowers and fruits and fruit yield), chemical and nutritional (moisture, total soluble solids, acidity, Vitamin C, protein, reducing sugars, lycopene and pectin) properties of the tomato. The results revealed that adding composted Pongamia cake to soil has a significant positive influence on yield for 35 days and 60 days of transplant. Substantially high yields were obtained in soils mixed with 3% composted Pongamia cake. Such effects could not be attributed solely to the chemical and physical properties of the composted de-oiled cake but there must be synergistic effect of karanjin. The application of composted de-oiled cake of Pongamia provides good basal dressing manures in tomato crops.