Effect of Pruning and Staking on Growth and Yield of Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.).

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the phenology, growth and fruit yield of cucumber as affected by different pruning and staking methods. The experiment was conducted at the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED), Mampong Campus, Multipurpose Crop Nursery in two cropping seasons (major and minor) in the year 2023. The experimental design was a 3 × 3 factorial experiment arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four (4) replications. The first factor was pruning which included (i) single sucker pruning, (ii) multiple sucker pruning, and (iii) no sucker pruning (control) and the second factor was staking which also included (i) V-shape staking (ii) single plant staking (control) and (iii) T-trailer staking). The results showed that V-shape staking produced plant with shorter days to 50% flowering than the other staking methods and also produced more number of fruit set and percentage plant establishment. Multiple sucker pruning improved the vine length and leaf area of cucumber and No sucker pruning also produced more number of leaves than the pruning methods. V-shape staking produced wider or thicker stems than the other staking methods and also longer vines. Single plant staking also improved the leaf area of cucumber. Multiple sucker pruning + T-trailers staking improved the vine length of cucumber, Multiple sucker pruning + V-shape staking rather improved the stem diameter and Single sucker pruning + V-shape staking produced longer fruits and wider fruits than the other interactions. Multiple sucker pruning + T-tailers staking produced higher fruit yield of cucumber than the other interactions. It is therefore recommended that, Single sucker pruning and V-shape staking are to be considered for adoption for longer and wider fruits. Also, Multiple sucker pruning and T-tailers staking for higher fruit yield of cucumber.