Plant Physiology and Soil Chemistry (PPSC) 3(1) (2023) 26-30 Quick Response Code Access this article online Website: www.ppsc.org.my DOI: 10.26480/ppsc.01.2023.26.30 Cite The Article: Zakia Khaskeli, Ali Raza Jamali, Shamshad Jamali, Ajay Kumar, Maqsood Ali Wagan, Sagar Raza Chandio (2023). Effect of Different Potassium Levels on Growth and Yield of Tomato (Lycopersicon Esculentum Mill.). Plant Physiology and Soil Chemistry, 3(1): 26-30 ISSN: 2805-5063 (Online) CODEN: PPSCCU RESEARCH ARTICLE Plant Physiology and Soil Chemistry (PPSC) DOI: http://doi.org/10.26480/ppsc.01.2023.26.30 EFFECT OF DIFFERENT POTASSIUM LEVELS ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF TOMATO (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) Zakia Khaskeli a , Ali Raza Jamali a , Shamshad Jamali b , Ajay Kumar a , Maqsood Ali Wagan *a , Sagar Raza Chandio a a Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Crop Production Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam, Pakistan b Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Crop Production Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam, Pakistan *Corresponding Author E-mail: maqsoodwagan184@gmail.com This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ARTICLE DETAILS ABSTRACT Article History: Received 03 January 2023 Revised 08 February 2023 Accepted 14 March 2023 Available online 16 March 2023 Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is a popular vegetable and the most important ingredient when any vegetable is cooked and referred to as “protective food” because of its special nutritive value and widespread production. The present research was carried out in 2017-18 at Horticulture Garden, Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam, Pakistan. To assess the Effect of Different Potassium levels on the Growth and Yield of Tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum mill.) the experimental trial was carried out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. The Gola Variety Seedlings are transplanted at the field. Six different potassium levels were used for soil fertility Viz K1 (Control/ without K), K2 (25 kg ha -1 ), K3 (50 kg ha - 1 ), K4 (75 kg ha -1 ), K5 (100 kg ha -1 ) and K6 (125 kg ha -1 ). Potassium should be applied on split doses and tomato crop was planted and observations were recorded for plant height (cm), number of branches plant -1 , days to flowering, days to fruiting, number of fruits plant -1 , the weight of single fruit (g), fruit yield plot -1 (kg) and fruit yield (ton ha -1 ). It was found that all studied attributes were statically significant (P<0.05) and influenced by different potassium levels. The maximum plant height (107.00cm), number of branches plant -1 (9.33), number of fruits plant -1 (91.66), the weight of single fruit (105.67g), fruit yield plot -1 (45.48kg) and fruit yield (49.12ton ha -1 ) was recorded in where potassium 100 kg ha -1 was used. The maximum plant height (103.60cm), number of branches plant -1 (7.33), number of fruits plant -1 (87.66), the weight of single fruit (101.00g), fruit yield plot -1 (40.95kg) and fruit yield (44.23ton ha -1 ) was recorded in where potassium 75 kg ha -1 was used. While the minimum plant height (70.00cm), number of branches plant -1 (3.66), number of fruits plant -1 (60.00), the weight of single fruit (48.00g), fruit yield plot -1 (10.27kg) and fruit yield (11.09ton ha -1 ) was recorded in where potassium did not be used respectively. The present results that the (100 kg K ha -1 ) had a better result for all parameters and all results were statically significant. KEYWORDS Potassium, Tomato, Gola Variety. K-Levels 1. INTRODUCTION Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is one of the common edible vegetables of herbaceous plants. It is an important ingredient used in most the cuisines worldwide. It is considered a protective food due to its nutritional value. It grows widely and is a delicious crop adapted to be cultivated in a wide range of soil types and climatic conditions (Peralta and Spooner, 2001). tomato fruit may be eaten raw, semi-cooked or cooked. Large quantities of tomatoes are used to prepare many food products such as tomato soup, juice, ketchup, paste, dried slices and powder, etc. (Yamashita, 2000). Tomato cultivation in Pakistan has greatly intensified in recent years. However, its local production still could not meet the domestic needs of tomatoes therefore sometimes tomato is imported into the country. This limitation in tomato production is chiefly related to high variation in fertile conditions of the cultivation area of tomato as well as other related factors with respect to the use of inputs, soil infertility, pest infestation, cultural practices and an imbalanced application of essentially required nutrients i.e. potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen (Khan et al., 2002 and Shivanna et al., 2015). The sensible use of fertilizers is considered as an important factor that greatly influences upon the crop yield. Among all the nutrients applied to the soil, potassium is an essential and integral mineral needed by plants their growth. The role of potassium is well documented in the activity of photosynthesis enzymes, protein synthesis, and carbohydrate formation for enabling resistance against pests and diseases (Tisdale et al., 1985). Among the essentially needed nutrient elements, the Potassium is fundamentally needed macronutrient for the growth and development of plants in a larger quantity. Potassium is a major element for all plants. It is required for a variety of processes in plants such as photosynthesis, winter hardiness, fruit formation, and resistance against diseases (Awatef et al., 2015). An adequate level of potassium is essentially needed for the better survival of the plants. Potassium is an important inorganic constituent of all plants and it is a major contributor to lowering osmotic pressure in the stele of roots which is one of the major requirements for maintaining turgor pressure for transporting solute in xylem as well as water balance into the plants (Marschner, 1995). This mineral potassium is available in plant systems in the cationic form K + . During plant cultivation a large amount of potassium is supplied by fertilizers. Potassium is an essential nutrient needed by plants in larger quantities