Influence of Farm Yard Manure on Nematode Infestation, Yield and Quality of Cucumber

Abstract

Cucumber production in Kenya is faced with a number of challenges that include nematode infestation, low yield and quality of the crop resulting into low returns. In an effort to solve some of these challenges, a study was conducted to ascertain the effects of farmyard manure on nematode infestation, yield and quality of cucumber at Rongo University School of Agriculture Research Farm from July to October 2017 and repeated from October 2017 to January 2018. Three seeds of cucumber ‘Ashley’ were sown directly in 3.5-liter plastic pots containing 8 kg of sterilized air dried growth medium made up of sand and top soil in the ratio of 1:2 respectively. The treatments were four levels of cattle manure 0 (control), 7.5, 11.3 and 15 ton/ha. Each pot was then inoculated with 5 juvenile root knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp). The experiment was performed under completely randomized block design with three replications. Data was collected on yield, quality and nematode population dynamics and then subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at P≤0.05. The Number of fruits per vine, number of deformed fruits per vine, fruit weight, length, diameter, firmness and TSS were significantly affected by FYM application. FYM also affected the number of root galls and nematode population.