Growth and Yield Performance of Cucumber as Influenced by Fertilizer Amendments and Plant Spacing.

Abstract

The world uses cucumber as both a food and a medicine; however, its producers are faced with challenges. These challenges include farmers inability to afford or purchase inputs like fertilizer among others. The study was conducted to determine the effects of different rates of soil amendments and plant spacing on growth and yield of cucumber. The experiment was conducted at the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development, Mampong Campus, Multipurpose Crop Nursery in two cropping seasons (major and minor) from March to July 2023 and August to December 2023. The experimental design was a 6 × 2 factorial experiment arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three (3) replications. The factors were (A) fertilizer amendment which included; (i) 30 t/ha chicken manure (CM), (ii) 15 t/ha chicken manure (CM), (iii) 100 kg/ha NPK, (iv) 50 kg/ha NPK, (v) 15 t/ha chicken manure (CM) + 50 kg/ha NPK and (vi) Control (No fertilizer) and (B) plant spacing which also included (i) 40 cm × 20 cm and (ii) 40 cm × 25 cm. The results showed that 30 t/ha of chicken manure caused an increase in the vegetative growth of cucumber (plant height, number of vines, stem girth and leaf area). Fruit diameter was significantly higher in 30 t/ha chicken manure. The 15 t/ha CM + 50 kg/ha NPK + 40 cm × 20 cm produced significantly greater number of marketable fruits per plot (33 and 37), fruit weight per plant (4.5 kg and 5.4 kg) and fruit yield (62.5 t/ha and 75.4 t/ha) than the other amendments and the control in the minor and major seasons respectively. The combination of 50 kg/ha NPK and 40 cm × 25 cm yielded the maximum benefit to cost ratio in both cropping seasons. In addition, all treatments, except the control (no fertilizer) had significant benefit to cost ratio. For optimal marketable yields and heaviest fruit weight in both seasons, it is recommended to cucumber farmers to apply chicken manure at 15 t/ha + 50 kg/ha NPK and plant spacing of 40 cm × 20 cm.