Raju Khatri¹ , Dipesh Kumar Mandal² , Nitesh Adhikari² , Preshna Basnet³ , Susmita Mishra³ , Sushma Neupane³

1 Faculty of Agriculture, College of Natural Resource Management, Agriculture and Forestry University, Rampur, Chitwan, 44200, Nepal
2 Faculty of Science and Technology, Ilam Community Agriculture Campus, Ilam, Purbanchal University, 57300, Nepal
3 Faculty of Science and Technology, G. P. Koirala College of Agriculture and Research Center, Purbanchal University, Gothgaun, Morang, 56600, Nepal
Author    Correspondence author
International Journal of Horticulture, 2025, Vol. 15, No. 6   doi: 10.5376/ijh.2025.15.0027
Received: 09 Jun., 2025    Accepted: 08 Oct., 2025    Published: 20 Nov., 2025

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Khatri R., Mandal D.K., Adhikari N., Basnet P., Mishra S., and Neupane S., 2025, Evaluating the impact of different growing media on germination parameters and seedling growth of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) in Bhojpur, Nepal, International Journal of Horticulture, 15(6): 267-278 (doi: 10.5376/ijh.2025.15.0027)

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most widely cultivated and consumed vegetables globally, valued for its high nutritional content, market demand, and processing potential. However, low-quality seedlings due to improper nursery media selection often led to poor field establishment and reduced yields. To address this challenge, a study was conducted from January to March 2025, to evaluate the effects of different growing media on tomato seedling performance. The experiment involved nine treatments: T1 (Vermicompost), T2 (Cocopeat), T3 (Soil), T4 (FYM + Soil), T5 (Soil + Cocopeat), T6 (Vermicompost + Soil), T7 (Vermicompost + Cocopeat), T8 (Cocopeat + Soil + Vermicompost), and T9 (Vermicompost + FYM + Soil + Cocopeat). The findings revealed that T9 significantly enhanced all measured seedling growth parameters, including root length, shoot length, fresh weight, and dry weight, suggesting a superior growing environment due to balanced nutrient supply, aeration, and water retention. T8 and T6 also showed favorable early stem and leaf development, while T1 consistently underperformed due to poor structural and aeration properties. These results demonstrate the critical role of media composition in promoting early plant vigor and highlight the potential of integrated substrates in nursery management. The study holds substantial practical value for sustainable tomato cultivation, especially in resource-limited settings. By utilizing locally available components like vermicompost, FYM, cocopeat, and soil in strategic combinations, farmers and nursery operators can produce healthier seedlings with better post-transplant growth potential. Future prospects include field-scale validation, economic analysis, and exploring similar media optimization for other high-value vegetable crops.

Tomato seedlings; Vermicompost; Cocopeat; Growing media; Seedling growth