Management of Pruning and Nutritional Solution in the Growth and Production of Cucumber in a Greenhouse

Abstract

In the present investigation, the growth and yield of pickle type cucumber plants were evaluated. An experiment was established under greenhouse conditions with pickle-type cucumber plants in flexible plastic containers with a substrate of volcanic origin and coconut fiber in a 75:25 v/v ratio. The treatments consisted of evaluating two pruning systems: a) pruning with axillary shoots and b) pruning without axillary shoots, leaving one leaf and one fruit. Likewise, two variants of Steiner's Universal Solution were used: a) nutrient solution at 75% of its original concentration and b) nutrient solution at 75% of its concentration, varying the NO3:K+ ratio (9:10 meq L-1). Four samplings were carried out at 76, 91, 106 and 121 days after sowing. A completely randomized design with a 2x2 factorial arrangement with five repetitions per treatment was used. It was quantified: days to flowering, days to harvest, plant height, number of leaves and leaf area, leaf area index, number of fruits per plant, total yield and diameter, length and weight of the fruit. It was determined that the Steiner solution with the variation in the NO3: K+ (9:10) ratio and a pruning of axillary shoots produced a greater number of leaves and leaf area than that of Steiner at 75 % while, for the number of fruits produced per plant, the 75 % Steiner solution was the one that promoted the best results. Therefore, the use of the 75% Steiner nutrient solution and pruning with axillary shoots are recommended, for large-scale establishments such as greenhouses, since greater production is obtained from 76, 91 and 106 days later. of sowing.