Effect of Irrigation, some Plant Nutrients with Mulching on Growth and Productivity of Cucumber

Abstract

This work was carried out during the two consecutive summers of 2016 2017 in the Experimental Station Farm, Faculty of Agriculture Natural Resources, Aswan University, Egypt on a soil sandy textured soil. This work aimed to study the effect of number of drip irrigation periods/week, foliar spray with some plant nutrients micronutrients Biostimulant and with or without mulching on growth, yield quality of cucumber. Certain physiological chemical characters plant height, number of leaves per plant, number of branches per plant, plant dry weight (g), chlorophyll, reducing sugars, acidity, vitamin C, soluble solids (TSS), No. of day to harvest, early yield (ton/fed.), average fruit weight (g), total yield (ton/fed.), chemical analyses of plants (N, P K %). The experimental design was a split-split plots system arranged in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Number of drip irrigation periods/week (2 3), foliar spray with some plant nutrients i.e. (control distilled water, Zinc chelated (Zn 14 % EDTA) at 100 mg/l Iron chelated (Fe 13.0 % EDTA) at 500 mg/l seaweed extract 1000 mg/l) polyethylene mulching treatments i.e. without mulching, clear polyethylene mulch + sugar cane straw mulch black polyethylene mulch + sugar cane straw mulch. The obtained results revealed that 2 drip irrigation periods/week + black polyethylene mulch + sugar cane straw mulch + 1000 mg/l seaweed extract gave the significant effects in most studied characters under study during both seasons.