I am testing the effectiveness of dried algae biomass as a bio-fertilizer compared to the chemical fertilizer NPK,
The plant I'm using is cherry tomatoes, they are about 25 days old. What is the best way to add the fertilizer? I read many papers and some of them add some the fertilizer to the water each 2 weeks, and some mix the whole amount with the soil
Dear Alaa, For you to best understand how your chemical and algal fertilization can compare I would suggest working on a dose response experiment where a 0, 1, 2, and 4 dosage treatment on each chemical and algal fertilization. Response curves will give you more information. In tomatoes a 150 75 150 kg/ha NPK would be a common full dosage. O is your nontreated treatment the 75 37.5 75 would be the one dosage 2 150 75 150 is the standard dosage and the 300 150 300 would be your high dosage. Your algal could be applied at the same nutrient dosage and you will get two response curves. I would suggest making the additions to the soil rather than foliar because there is much less foliar comparisons in the literature.
Dear Alaa, In relation to your testing I would suggest using large production pots and making sure the water is equal in all cases. Pots or production bags of 25 liters would be a good size. You will need to have about 8 replicates to get good precision. You should select the transplants to be uniform in size and vigor. In tomatoes high temperatures can be problematic for their fertility and productivity it might be best to conduct this in winter season under your conditions. If you are doing water by drip irrigation make sure that timing is consistent for all treatment and care is taken to ensure the watering is running without clogs or other issues. You should also pay attention to water and quality and analysis.
Dear Alaa, I agree with Dr. Paul Reed, you should use various concentrations of algae extract as NPK fertilization to make comparisons.
I sent my thesis to you. That was the same work... algae extarct & bio and organic firtilization on Origanum vulgare
Depending on the source, N has to be added as whole or frequently, based on the climatic region you live in. If you add N as organic matter, you should add all and incorporate it into your soil. If you add it as urea, or ammonium nitrate, you can do it every two weeks or longer. The difference lies on the fact that in organic matter, N is more stable, while as fertiliser, N has to undergo a chemical transformation, and if added in excess, you will have loss and white fllies.
I agree with the answers of Paul Reed Hepperly but you should also focus on the type of measurements. Since you are comparing chemical with organic fertilizers, your measurements must focus on nutritive components in the fruits. Most likely the chemical fertilizers will give you higher yield but definitely the organic fertilizers will give you more nutritive fruits.
If the test is for fertilizer, I must choose different times and different methods of application, and through the response of the plant, the best can be known
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