STUDIES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF ORGANIC AND INORGANIC FERTILIZER ON THE GROWTH AND YIELD OF CUCUMBER (CUCUMIS SATIVUS L.)

Abstract

Experiments were conducted in the Botanical Garden of the Department of Biology of Kaduna State University to study the effects of Organic and Inorganic Fertilizer on the growth and yield of Cucumis sativus L. The seeds for the experiment were locally sourced. Four (4) days after transplanting, a rate of 2ton/ha, 4ton/ha, 6ton/ha poultry manure was applied. Similarly, a rate of   25g/ha, 50g/ha, 75g/ha of NPK was also applied and a control. Seeds of cucumber were planted by broadcasting on the seed bed the seedlings were transplanted after germination. The plants were subjected to irrigation by watering morning and evening. The results of Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) indicated significance difference among the treatments with respect to the parameters studied (p < 0.05). Highest plant height of 33cm was recorded with 6ton/ha compared to the control which had 11.5cm. However, highest number of leaves was recorded with 4ton/ha and was followed by the 6ton/ha. The best stem girth of 1.8cm, was observed with 4ton/ha while the control had 0.88cm stem girth. Excellent vigour was produced by the 6ton/ha, while the lowest vigour was observed with the 2ton/ha. The best plant yields of was observed with 6ton/ha compared with the control which had the least performance. On the other hand, 25kg/ha of NPK had the highest plant height of 20.5cm while the lowest plant height of 13cm was observed  with 75kg/ha, compared to the control which had 11.5cm. The 25kg/ha gave the highest number of leaves followed by the 50kg/ha and 75kg/ha which both had the lowest number of five (5) leaves. Similarly, 50kg/ha had the highest stem girth of 1.2cm while the lowest stem girth was observed with the control which had 0.7cm stem girth. The best vigour was recorded with the 25kg/ha compared to the control which had the least vigour. Also, highest plant yields was recorded with 25kg/ha and the lowest plant yield was observed in the control. The application of poultry manure in the propagation of Cucumis sativus remarkably influenced the growth and yield of Cucumber.