Prostrate or upright growth habit in tomato cultivars: contributory roles of stem diameters and fruit weight under fertilizer application

For increased production of fresh market tomato fruits, identification of cultivars that combine upright growth habit (UGH) and increased fruit weight under increased fertilizer rates is essential. Six tomato cultivars comprising five improved types namely Tropimech, Buffalo, Roma VF, Roma Savana, UC 82 and a local cultivar Kerewa were evaluated to identify cultivars that combined average fruit weight with UGH under different rates of NPK 15:15:15 fertilizer (0, 30, 50, and 80 kg ha-1). Aerial and basal stem diameter (ASD and BSD), and weight per fruit (WPF) cumulatively accounted for the largest significant variation (47.17 **) in growth habit of the tomato cultivars with ASD being the most determinant of all. Increased fertilizer rates resulted in increased morphological and yield parameters but promoted prostrate growth habit in tomato cultivars. At 30 kg ha-1, Roma VF and Roma Savanna combined UGH with ample yield per plant while at 50 and 80 kg ha-1 of fertilizer, UC 82 consistently maintained the most UGH with higher yield. Growing UC 82 at 50 kg ha-1 of fertilizer is recommended for better UGH and higher yield. Consideration should be given to ASD, BSD, and WPF in future improvements of tomato for UGH and yield.