A Study Examining the Performance of Tomato Hybrids Arka Abhed and Arka Samrat in the Visakhapatnam District of Andhra Pradesh, India

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), a member of the Solanaceae family, is an important source of lipid-soluble antioxidants in the human diet because of their relatively high content of carotenoids. Lycopene’s presence in plasma in tomatoes is valued for its anti-cancer properties. The farmers of Visakhapatnam district were in great need of best performing and high yielding tomato varieties as the existing varieties are less yielders and highly succumb to pests and diseases. An On-Farm Trial (OFT) for three consecutive years (2020-21, 2021-22) was conducted by ICAR-ANGRAU, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Kondempudi directly in the farmers’ fields of five selected villages viz. Bangurumeta, Adduru, Thotakurapalem, Pottidorapalem, Jaithavaram and Chedikada in Visakhapatnam district of Andhra Pradesh to evaluate the performance of two very promising tomato hybrids viz. Arka Abhed and Arka Samrat with regard to yield and economic analysis vis a vis the farmers’ practice variety Laxmi. A total of twenty-five farmers actively participated in the OFT covering an area of 7.5 acres. As regards fruit yield, the tomato hybrid Arka Abhed proved to be the best followed by the Arka Samrat and Laxmi hybrid for all three years of the study with fruit yields of 587.32, 569.13 and 409.14 q/ha, respectively. During the years of the trial, the fruit yields of Arka Abhed and Arka Samrat improved from 27.44 to 30.33% and 24.57 to 28.11%, respectively. The average cost-benefit ratios for three years for Arka Abhed, Arka Samrat and Laxmi hybrid were 1:2.30, 1:2.16 and 1:1.58, respectively. The Extension gap was between 111.18 to 183.86 and 129.08 to 202.83 q/ha for Arka Samrat and Arka Abhed, respectively. The results of the OFT amply demonstrated the superiority of the tomato hybrids Arka Abhed and Arka Samrat over the farmers’ practice (Laxmi) in yield, cost: benefit ratio and net return. Moreover, results on the Technology Index viz. 15.25, 19.47 and 28.83% for Laxmi (farmers’ practice), Arka Abhed and Arka Samrat, respectively, revealed that for both the tomato hybrids, there is viability of the demonstrated technology in the area of the OFT viz. Visakhapatnam district and the surrounding areas of north coastal Andhra Pradesh.