Stabilized amine nitrogen (SAN) increases tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) yield under experimental and commercial production

Excessive nitrogen use for crop production leads to environmental damage, so nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) needs to be improved. Stabilized amine nitrogen (SAN) (Lono, Levity Crop Science) has been shown to increase quality and yield of several crops. This work assesses the use of SAN for tomato production.

SAN was applied to experimentally and commercially grown tomato plants and compared to several industry standard forms of nitrogen. Plant growth characters and yield were recorded.

SAN was compared to an industry standard (IS) nitrogen fertilizer, and it significantly increased the harvested yield due to significant increases in fruit on trusses M3, M4 and lateral shoots. SAN was compared to several conventional IS fertilizers resulting in significantly increased chlorophyll levels, fruit-bearing trusses and an increased yield, but there was a shorter growth habit suggesting more energy was put towards fruit production and less to vegetative growth. Finally, SAN was applied to commercial processing tomato (variety HZ1662) production where there was a significant increase in the perfect red fruit when compared to the standard nitrogen application regime.

 Further work could be done with other commercial tomato crops.

 Results from glasshouse experiments and commercial production show that SAN increases the yield of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) when compared to IS nitrogen applications.