Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate fertigation effects of pig slurry (PS) and chemical fertilizer (CF) in cucumber by investigating the growth and yield, nutrient content and uptake, nutrient use efficiency, and soil characteristics in greenhouse cultivation. The cropping patterns of cucumber were semi-forcing culture and retarding culture, and the experiment involves four treatments: No fertilizer (NF), and of N application by slurry composting biofiltration liquefied fertilizer (SCBLF), and of N treatment by chemical fertilizer. The difference on the plant height of cucumber between SCBLF and CF treatments was no significant, but fresh weight and dry weight of stem and root were higher in SCBLF treatment. The Ca content of the leaf was lower in the treatments of SCBLF and the K content of the root was lower in the CF treatment. The Ca content of the stem was lowest in the CF treatment and the mineral content of the fruit showed no significant difference. In case of semi-forcing culture, the gross yield was lower in the CF treatment and the yield of unmarketable fruit was lower in the SCBLF treatments. The nutrient use efficiency of cucumber is as follows: K (8.3 ~ 30.9%), N (4.2 ~ 13.0%), P (1.9 ~ 2.0%). The SCBLF treatments showed higher figure in the soil pH than that of the CF treatment, while EC and the content of -N were higher in the CF treatment than the former. The content of exchangeable K was higher in the plot treated with SCBLF, and there were no significant differences in the content of Ca and Mg between the treatments. In conclusion, it is suggested that the application of liquefied manure made from pig slurry may be able to replace the use of chemical fertilizer in nitrogen and potassium.

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