effects of different sources of nutrition on quantitative and qualitative characteristics of lycopersicon esculentum under ecological cropping system

introduction: increasing usage of chemical fertilizers imposes irreparable damages to the environment. disadvantages of chemical fertilizers has led to more attention to the application of organic fertilizers and manures. the use of organic fertilizers and livestock, especially in nutrient poor soils, it is necessary to maintain soil quality. plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (pgpr) occupy the rhizosphere of many plant species and have beneficial effects on the host plant. they may influence the plant in a direct or indirect manner. a direct mechanism would be to increase plant growth by supplying the plant with nutrients and hormones. indirect mechanisms on the otherhand, include, reduced susceptibility to diseases, and activing a form of defese referred to as induces systematic resistance. examples of bacteria which have been found to enhance plant growth, include pseudomonas, enterobacter and arthrobacter. biofertilizers contain organic compounds that increase soil fertility either directly or as a result of their decay (9, 10). tomato (lycopersicon esculentum l.) belongs to the nightshade family, solanaceae. the plant typically grow 1-3 meters in height and a weak stem. it is a perennial in its native habitat, although often grown outdoors in temperate climates as an annual. an average common tomato weighs approximately 100 grams. tomatoes contain the carotene lycopene, one of the most powerful natural antioxidants. in some studies, lycopene, especially in cooked tomatoes, has been found to help prevent prostate cancer. lycopene has also been shown to improve the skin’s ability to protect against harmful uv rays. tomatoes might help in managing human neurodegenerative diseases. the lycopene has no effect on the risk of developing diabetes, but may help relieve the oxidative stress of people who already have diabetes. the purpose of this study was the possibility of replacing chemical fertilizers with biofertilizers, reducing production costs and increasing product quality. materials and methods: in order to study the effects of different fertilizers on the quantity and quality characteristics of tomato (lycopersicon esculentum mill.), a split plot experiment based on rcbd design with three replications was conducted in 2009-10 growing season in research farm of ferdowsi university of mashhad, iran. two levels of poultry manure (zero and 20 ton ha-1) and five different fertilizers (nitroxin (a), phosphate solubizing bacteria (b), a+b, nitrogen and phosphorous chemical fertilizers and control) were considered as the main and sub factors, respectively. studied traits were fruit number and weight per plant, total yield, marketable yield, spad number, brix index, c vitamin and lycopene content. results and discussion: the results showed that poultry manure increased total yield of tomato compared with control. chemical fertilizers led to the production of highest total yield. biophosphorous+nitroxin and biophosphorous increased marketable yield by 17 and 11 percent compared to control, respectively. the highest and the lowest contents of vitamin c were observed in nitroxin and chemical fertilizer, respectively. biofertilizers and chemical fertilizers increased lycopene content compared with control, so that the maximum content of lycopene was obtained in the biophosphorous with 2.38 mg per 100 g sample, also, the fruit yield of tomato was more in the first stage of harvesting rather than the second stage. it seems organic fertilizers and biofertilizers increased morphological characteristics and yield of tomato due to provide better conditions to absorption and transportation of nutrient to the plant. it has been reported that this ecological inputs provide favorable conditions for plant growth and development through improvement of physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil, therefore, it can be concluded that improvement of most of studied traits in the present study were due to use of organic fertilizers and biofertilizers. conclusions: the cost of this study has been funded by research and technology deputy of ferdowsi university of mashhad, faculty of agriculture, the financial supports is appreciated.