ABSTRACT

Peat-moss (Sphagnum spp.), is currently an expensive material and a nonrenewable resource with variable properties. Therefore, its use should be gradually reduced. Hence, there are numerous attempts aiming to reduce the use of peat-moss as a bulk substrate and to search for high-quality, locally available and low-cost alternatives to peat-moss. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to investigate the effect of partial replacing of peat-moss with tomato waste compost (TWC) on plant growth, productivity, fruit quality, and morphological features of two types of economic cucurbits species under greenhouse conditions. The plants were planted into pots containing different proportions of TWC (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 30%) with peat-moss, sand and clay as growing substrates. The results indicated that the plant height and the leaves number of both plants were significantly influenced by different substrate treatments. TWC ratios of 15% and 20% increased the amount of cucumber and summer squash fruit yield more than the commercial peat media but they had insignificant differences. Also, they were significantly improved fruit quality characteristics, particularly total soluble solid (TSS) and titratable acidity (TA) of crop fruits more than commercial peat-moss treatment.

Implications: Because of the high price of peat-moss and that it is a non-renewable material, farmers resorted to using other alternatives, including green residue compost. Thus, the aim of this work is to reduce the use of peat-moss by replacing it with the use of lokw percentages of TWC. When tomato plant residues return to the soil by converting them into compost, this is a valuable agricultural practice to improve soil fertility and increase the organic matter of the soil as well as increase the source of nitrogen (N) that supports the growth of beneficial microorganisms.

摘要

泥炭藓（Sphagnum spp.）目前是一种昂贵的材料，是一种性质可变的不可再生资源。因此，应逐渐减少其使用。因此，有许多尝试旨在减少泥炭藓作为大块基质的使用，并寻找高质量、本地可用和低成本的泥炭藓替代品。因此，本研究的主要目的是研究温室条件下番茄废弃物堆肥（TWC）部分替代泥炭苔对两种经济葫芦科植物生长、生产力、果实品质和形态特征的影响。将植物种植在含有不同比例 TWC（0%、5%、10%、15%、20% 和 30%）的盆中，以泥炭苔、沙子和粘土作为生长基质。结果表明，不同基质处理对两种植物的株高和叶数均有显着影响。15% 和 20% 的 TWC 比率比商业泥炭培养基增加了黄瓜和西葫芦果实的产量，但它们之间的差异不显着。此外，与商业泥炭藓处理相比，它们显着改善了果实品质特征，尤其是作物果实的总可溶性固形物 (TSS) 和可滴定酸度 (TA)。

影响: 由于泥炭藓价格高昂，而且它是一种不可再生材料，农民不得不使用其他替代品，包括绿色残留堆肥。因此，这项工作的目的是通过使用 lokw 百分比的 TWC 来代替泥炭苔藓，从而减少泥炭苔藓的使用。当番茄植株残留物通过将其转化为堆肥而返回土壤时，这是一种宝贵的农业实践，可提高土壤肥力、增加土壤有机质以及增加支持有益微生物生长的氮 (N) 来源.