Nutrient Concentration of African Horned Cucumber (Cucumis metuliferus L) Fruit under Different Soil Types, Environments, and Varying Irrigation Water Levels

Abstract

The nutrient concentration of most crops depends on factors such as amount of water, growing environment, sunlight, and soil types. However, the factors influencing nutrient concentration of African horned cucumber fruit are not yet known. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of different water stress levels, soil types, and growing environments on the nutrient concentration of African horned cucumber fruit. Freeze-dried fruit samples were used in the quantification of β-carotene and total soluble sugars. The results demonstrated that plants grown under the shade net, combined with severe water stress level and loamy soil, had increased total soluble sugars (from 8 to 16 °Brix). Under the shade-net environment, the combination of moderate water stress level and loamy soil resulted in increased crude protein content (from 6.22 to 6.34% °Brix). In addition, the severe water stress treatment combined with loamy soil, under greenhouse conditions, resulted in increased β-carotene content (from 1.5 to 1.7 mg 100 g−1 DW). The results showed that African horned cucumber fruits are nutrient-dense when grown under moderate water stress treatment on the loamy or sandy loam substrate in the shade-net and open-field environments.

The effect of coconut coir substrate on the yield and nutritional quality of sweet peppers (Capsicum annuum) varieties

“…In plants, the primary roles of vitamin C include acting as cofactors in various metabolic pathways, facilitating the production of vital compounds for bacteria and plants, inducing pathogen resistance, directly promoting plant growth, and taking part in the conversion of compounds stored in the plant into energy 23 , 26 . In human health, all bodily tissues require vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, for their growth, development, and repair.…”

“…Freeze dried fruit samples were digested in a diffused microwave system (MLS 1200 Mega; Milestone S.r. L, Sorisole, Italy) and samples further congelated-dried following the procedure described by 23 with minor modifications. The modifications were that samples were measured in three (3) replicates per treatment (around 15–25 mg) weighed into polytetrafluoroethylene vessels and 2 ml HNO 3 (67%, analphur) and 1 ml H 2 0 2 (30%, analytical grade) added in the vessels.…”

Horticultural Crop Response to Different Environmental and Nutritional Stress

“…The effect of environment conditions (temperature, rainfall, altitude, soil types, hail) [5][6][7][8][9], nutritional strategies [5,6,[10][11][12][13][14], water (stress, salinity) [5,8,12,15], container substrate of cultivation [16] on yield, yield traits and quality were analyzed in different crops in an open field [8,9,13,14,17] and greenhouses [5][6][7][10][11][12]15,16].…”

“…Different innovative strategies were presented that included protected structures, container type, cultivation techniques [5,10,16], symbiotic relationships [6,7], fertigation strategies [10] new agricultural management technologies (remote sensing, smartphone) [11] novel hybrids for breeding [12] spraying of Gibberellic acid [17], water supplies [8,15] and substrate [16] cover crops management [13] and stand reduction [9].…”

“…This study was conducted during the 2017/18 and 2018/19 growing seasons, under the greenhouse, shade net, and open-space environment at the Florida science campus of the University of South Africa [5]. The aim was to determine the effect of different water stress levels, soil types, and growing environments (greenhouse, shade net, and open field) on the nutrient concentration of the African horned cucumber fruit.…”