Sustainable Production of Tomato Using Fish Effluents Improved Plant Growth, Yield Components, and Yield in Northern Senegal

Aquaculture and agriculture integration is essential for maximizing water and land productivity in arid and semi-arid regions. Thus, the increase in global water scarcity and the dual use of water for crop and fish production has the potential to optimize water use, dispose of aquaculture wastes, provide additional nutrients to crops, and reduce inorganic fertilizer usage, thus maximizing farm productivity. This greenhouse study was conducted to determine the effects of fish effluents on the growth, yield parameters, and yield of tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.). The experiment was carried out in a randomized complete block design with six replications. The 13 treatments consisted of three irrigation water types (river water-control, Nile tilapia-Oreochromis niloticus, African sharptooth catfish-Clarias gariepinus), four fertilizers (chicken manure, cow manure, sheep manure; recommended rate of NPK-280 kg ha(-1) of 10-10-20), and six mixed treatments with fish effluent and 50% of the applied rate of manure alone. Results showed that irrigation with C. gariepinus effluent increased the stem diameter by 21%, the number of flowers by 88%, the fruit number by 50%, the fruit diameter by 24%, the mean fruit weight by 34%, and total fruit weight of tomato by 96% compared to NPK treatments. These effects were more evident when C. gariepinus was mixed with poultry, cow, and sheep manures, which resulted in significantly greater values than recommended rates of NPK. The higher productivity observed from the combined use of C. gariepinus and manure treatments (133% increase, on average) compared to NPK treatments was related to the continuous supply of nutrients and the increase of yield parameters. Therefore, the combined use of C. gariepinus effluent and manure can be a viable alternative for smallholder farmers, for whom inorganic fertilizers are often neither affordable nor available.