Effect of different dimensions of grow bags and split application of albert’s fertilizer on growth and yield of salad cucumber (Cucumis sativus l.) under protected environment.

Abstract

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is an important vegetable crop belongs to the family Cucurbitaceae. Owing to the ease of mitigating adverse weather conditions and management techniques, C. sativus is widely grown as a greenhouse vegetable. Efficient nutrient management measures and physical characteristics of the grow bag are more significant when considering the economic viability and potential benefits of C. sativus cultivation under protected environment. Therefore, this experiment was conducted to determine the effect of the dimensions of grow bags and split application of Albert’s fertilizer on growth and yield of C. sativus L. Two-factor factorial experiment was arranged as Completely Randomized Design with six replicates. Factor one had three levels (three bag dimensions; D1-21×21×22.5cm3/standard size, D2-16×16×38.8 cm3 and D3-26×26×14 cm3) and factor two had three levels (three split fertilizer applications of Albert’s solution at 1.5g/l rate; single application, two split and three split applications per day per bag). In commercial cultivations, the common practice was to apply 1.5g/l of Albert’s fertilizer per bag per day. As growth parameter, plant height, number of leaves per plant, length between 14-15th internode and stem diameter of the plant were measured at a two week interval. Fresh weigh of fruits per plant, the number of fruits per plant, average weight of fruit and yield distribution according to market standards were quantified using a fruit scoring index. Data were analyzed using the SAS software program. Mean separation was done by using Duncan’s Multiple Range Test at 5% probability level. Results revealed that the interaction effect between two factors or single factors of the experiment did not significantly influence growth and yield parameters measured in the study. According to the results, it can be suggested that the number of bags and yield per unit area could be increased when use bags with D2 dimensions. However, production costs will rise simultaneously due to increase amounts of inputs such as fertilizer, water and labor. Therefore, it is more effective to use the existing dimension of the standard size bags (D1) used by the commercial cucumber growers while applying fertilizer once a day rather than investing additional effort to change the size or shape of the bag or nutrition management regime for C. sativus variety, Hanyan (CU13502) which would raise production costs and demand more labor and energy.