Effects of Different Fertilizers on the Germination of Tomato and Cucumber Seeds

In order to achieve maximum crop yields, the use of fertilizers has become prevalent in the agricultural industry. Chemical fertilizers are a controversial topic where the accumulation of heavy metals is detrimental to soil conditions, as well as in water and air pollution. However, there is little information from investigations on the effectiveness of different fertilizers on seed germination. This study evaluated six fertilizers: three organic fertilizers, namely fish manure (FM), bone meal (BM), and seaweed meal (SM), and three inorganic fertilizers, namely urea, HYPONeX NO.40 (HPX), and potassium sulfate (PS), on seed germination and root and shoot elongation in tomatoes and cucumbers. BM was regarded as the most effective fertilizer with the highest germination shown in tomato and cucumber crops. The results show that the six tested fertilizers promoted higher root and shoot elongations. The optimal concentration was identified in dosages at 100 mg/L with the application of FM, BM, HPX, and PS. For urea and SM, the most effective concentrations were 150 mg/L and more than 200 mg/L, respectively. Furthermore, the regression equations indicated there was a strong correlation between N, P, and K provided in the fertilizers and the growth performance, where the R² ranged from 0.76 to 0.99. The use of FM had a strong correlation with growth performance, which reflected that the levels of FM (9.5:3:0.4) were effective to sustain the growth of tomato and cucumber seedlings. The study suggested that organic fertilizers could be the most applicable and should be widely used in the agricultural industry, as the seed germination rates and root and shoot elongations were observed high. These fertilizers would lessen the impacts on the environment.