The higher weed suppression potential of Jasmine 85 and Rondo observed in the experiment is largely due to higher plant stand and better seedling establishment than other rice varieties. Main characteristics imparting weed competitiveness to rice include selection of cultivars, seeding vigor, early and faster seedling establishment, shoot-root characteristics and self-supportive allelopathy. Oluyemi, A.T. reported that Jasmine 85 grows rapidly, gives high yield,carries good resistance to pests in Southern United States and also suppresses the growth of weeds in surrounding area. Likewise, Gealy and Yan reported that Rondo has high yield potential and ability to suppress or tolerate rice pests,including weeds. Crop yield is determined by a combination of environmental factors and farm management practices that in turn influence soil fertility and plant nutrition. Despite applying 180 kg ha−1 mineral fertilizer that is more than twice the 87 kg ha−1 applied in developed nations, organic biomass was better than mineral fertilizer that was only better than the control. The increased tomato yield recorded for Mucuna and Tithonia treatments is consistent with the results reported in other studies that attributed greater crop yields to improved soil nutrients from organic matter and adequate soil moisture, bulk density and temperature.
Hence,hydroponic nft channel the increased tomato yields with organic amendments can be attributed to increased soil nutrient availability and improved plant nutrient uptake resulting from better soil physical, chemical and biological properties . Mulching with plant materials increases yields by stimulating decomposition and mineralisation in the rhizosphere, which improves soil nutrient availability, organic matter content, structure, moisture and temperature. In addition, differences in the quality of plant materials, nutrient content, texture, rate of decomposition, growth and vegetative matter turn over, availability and cost are important for effective ISFM.Besides the influence of Mucuna and Tithonia on soil properties, they possibly enhanced both root and shoot physiological and morphological developments, which in turn increased productivity. This is consistent with greater root production and lifespan induced by compost and mulching as compared to mineral fertilizer . In addition, mineral fertilizer induces high nitrate pulses, which could easily be leached as a result of its high mobility in the soil, coupled with the heavy rainfall condition of the study area. However, organic inputs would have released nitrogen more slowly, which enabled regular supply of nitrogen ions during a longer period of time to the root system that enhanced branching of axial roots and elongation of lateral roots, leading greater nutrient acquisition . Furthermore, decomposing Mucuna and Tithonia biomass likely increased humic substances in the rhizosphere that modified root morphology and induced proliferation of lateral roots and root hairs,nft growing system as well as increased the rate of differentiation for root cells.
Hence, greater tomato yields recorded for Mucuna and Tithonia amendments could be due to the interaction of improved soil properties and plant development ,which resulted in improved plant nutrition. The lack of significant difference or correlation between the ISFM treatments and tomato fresh weight could be attributed to the fact that some of the potential differences were compensated by water absorption from the soil that supplies all the water that the plant needs. It is suggested that comparison should be done on dry weight basis, which was not applicable in this case as the consumers preferably purchased fresh tomato fruits still having the original water content.Although ISFM considers combining appropriate micro doses of mineral fertilizer either solely or in combination with locally available organic materials as an important strategy for soil fertility improvement, the use of different organic inputs either solely or combined would be a more sustainable ISFM alternative. Accordingly,the best tomato yield was recorded with the combined biomass of Mucuna + Tithonia and the sole Tithoniabiomass application as compared to sole Mucuna, mineral fertilizer or the control. This is consistent with who demonstrated advantages of Tithonia + Poultry manure compost and sole Tithonia for improving soil properties and tomato performance .