The interaction between fertilizer nutrients and pesticides and their impact on tomato production and quality has been insufficiently studied in tropical agricultural conditions. This research investigated four fertilizer nutrient management (FNM) approaches: major nutrients (NPK), micronutrients, farmyard manure (FYM) and traditional farmer practices (FP), alongside three herbicides—glyphosate, pendimethalin and metribuzin applied using seven methods. Results highlighted the substantial influence of FNM strategies and herbicide applications on tomato growth and yield parameters such as plant height, cluster count, fruits per plant, fruit number and yield per plant. Notably, the NPK+FYM strategy consistently yielded superior results across herbicides and application methods. Individually applied herbicides, particularly glyphosate, exhibited detrimental effects on growth and yield parameters, and the negative impact was conspicuously higher with glyphosate > metribuzin > pendimethalin than with their sequential or combined application. While herbicides decreased tomato yield across FNM practices, the reduction ranged from 1.90–10.95%, 1.79–6.75%, 1.62–6.49% and 1.40–9.10% in NPK, NPK+MN, NPK+FYM and FP treatments, respectively. Fruit quality remained unaffected by FNM practices and herbicides, except for elevated ascorbic acid content and shelf life under NPK+FYM. Herbicide residues in tomato fruits were within permissible limits (below 0.1 mg/kg for glyphosate and 0.05 mg/kg for pendimethalin and metribuzin) across treatments. This study showed that the NPK+FYM practice is the best strategy for increasing the tomato yield and quality parameters besides reducing the herbicide’s toxicity effect on tomato growth at an early stage.

While nutrients are administered through various sources and combinations, herbicides are used for pre-plant and pre-emergence weed control in the tomato fields. Therefore, a study was conducted to understand the effects of nutrient fertilisat...

Tomatoes are in great demand worldwide and consumed due to their nutritional and sensory qualities. Weed infestation poses a great challenge in tomato production, prompting growers to employ two to three herbicides in combinations and sequences for comprehensive control. Consequently, this study was undertaken to investigate the effects of glyphosate, pendimethalin, and metribuzin when applied individually or in sequential combinations in tomato fields. The herbicides significantly reduced the weed density and dry biomass and enhanced the weed control efficiency (WCE) compared to control. A tank mix spray of pendimethalin and metribuzin following glyphosate gave significantly higher WCE (80-91%) and fruit yield (88.47 t/ha). The tomato quality parameters were unaffected by the herbicides. The terminal residues in fruits were found below the safe limit of 0.1 mg/kg for glyphosate and 0.01 mg/kg for pendimethalin and metribuzin. Moreover, there was no evidence of residual carryover toxicity from the applied herbicides, as confirmed by the plant bioassay and instrumental techniques. However, continuous spraying of herbicides repeatedly in succession and in combination necessitates long-term monitoring to assess the potential development of herbicide-resistant weeds, the bio-magnification of residues in soil, their transfer to tomato fruits and the impact on the food chain.

Background: FTIR spectroscopy is the instrumental technique used in science for studying soil constituents and their variations rapidly. Being a non-extraction technique, FTIR could also be used to study the interaction of soil composition with the applied external inputs like fertilizer nutrients through organic and inorganic sources and herbicides by assessing the variations in spectral patterns. This will also reveal the type of interaction and changes taking place in soil swiftly. Hence, the current study was carried out to investigate the interaction of herbicides with soil components under various fertilizer nutrient management practices. Methods: Three herbicides (glyphosate, pendimethalin, metribuzin) were applied to the sandy loam soil treated with soil inorganic fertilizer (NPK+MN) and organic fertilizer (NPK+FYM). Treated soils along with control, were collected, processed and subjected to FTIR analysis. Based on the intensity of absorption changes, the type of interactions and changes that occurred in the soil were assessed. Result: Results of the study reveal that the application of herbicides (glyphosate, pendimethalin and metribuzin) to soil and NPK + micronutrients and NPK + FYM resulted in complex interactions and changes in FTIR absorption intensities, notably in fingerprint regions (1200-400 cm-1). Shift in the peaks at different wave numbers occurred due to the interaction of soil constituents with the herbicides and organic matter as FYM. The study highlights that a deeper understanding of these complex interactions is crucial for optimizing the use and time of application of fertilizer nutrients and herbicides, minimising environmental impacts and promoting sustainable agricultural practices that preserve soil health and productivity.