Pear and apple pomace compost in the production of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) seedlings

Alternative substrates replacing non-renewable resources like peat, for growing media in horticulture, have gained importance. This work aimed to evaluate if pear and apple pomace compost could constitute an alternative to a commercial substrate for tomato seedlings production. Two experiments were carried out on trays with 100 cm(3) alveoli (experiment 1) and 30 cm(3) alveoli (experiment 2). In experiment 1, three substrates were used: commercial substrate (CS), mixture of CS and pomace compost (CS+C) and pure compost (C). In experiment 2 a fourth treatment with a mixture of compost and perlite (C+P) was incorporated. The obtained results indicated that seedling development using CS+C and CS as substrates, was similar in cells of 100 cm 3 and higher in cells of 30 cm(3). In addition, seedling growth on C+P in relation to CS, showed similar or higher values for some variables. These results indicate that replacing non-renewable resources such as peat in tomato seedling production, with a product obtained from a residue, would be feasible.