Investigating the Effect of Nitrogen and Phosphorus on the Height, Weight and fruits Yield of Tomatoes in Nigeria: Using MANOVA

Abstract

Fertilization in crops acts as an insurance against possible nutrient deficiencies that may be created by the repeated use of single land for plantation. Many farmers in Nigeria apply different combination of chemical fertilizers like Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium known as NPK fertilizers to enhance the height, weight and yield of tomatoes fruits. However, excessive use of fertilizers has hazard effect on soil, plants, and human health. Despite these adverse effects associated with excessive use of fertilizers, farmers in Nigeria use inadequate fertilizer inputs, inappropriate quality and inefficient combinations of fertilizers, which in the end prove to be very costly. Therefore, this research employed Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) to investigate if nitrogen and phosphorus application contribute to the height, weight, and yield of tomato fruit; identify specific level of nitrogen and phosphorus requirement for the optimal yield of tomato; and estimate the optimal yield of tomato fruit at the recommended levels. Series of data analysis carried out show that Nitrogen and Phosphorus contribute significantly to the height, weight and fruits yield of tomato. Further test carried out revealed that Nitrogen at 95kg/ha and Phosphorus at 22kg/ha are required to obtain perfect height, weight and optimal fruits yield of tomatoes. Hence, the derived Multivariate regression model was obtain for the height, weight and the fruits yield of tomatoes respectively as: 14 Yheight= -1314.615+1.947495+1.419722+8.662043 "> ; 14Yweight =15.056+0.33195+0.220423+">