Effect of Chemical, Organic and Bio Fertilizers on Growth, Yield and Quality of Cucumber Plant (Cucumis sativus L.) grown under Greenhouse Conditions

Abstract

This study was carried out at the Experimental Farm, College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Qassim University, Qassim Region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the period 2019-2020 under greenhouse conditions to investigate the effect of chemical, organic and bio- fertilizers on growth, yield and quality of cucumber crop. Five treatments of fertilization (chemical "inorganic") as a control – (organic) – (organic + Biochar) – (organic + fungus “VA-mycorrhiza”) – (organic + bacteria “Bacillus”) were used in this study. Results revealed that there were significant differences between the fertilization treatments in all studied characteristics except leaf fresh weight (g), fruit length (cm), number of fruits plant -1 and total soluble solids (%). The results showed that the organic with bio fertilizers gave the best results in all studied characteristics and were not significantly different from chemical (inorganic) fertilization. Fertilization treatment (organic + bacteria) was the best in yield and quality characteristics. Fertilization treatment (organic + fungus) was the best in some vegetative growth traits such as relative growth rate (g g -1 day -1 ) and net assimilation rate (g m -2 day -1 ). Therefore, the study recommends the use of organic fertilizers with bio fertilizers, especially (organic + bacteria) to obtain the highest yield and quality of cucumber fruits. Thus, it is possible to preserve the soil, ground water and air from pollution by fertilizer residues, which achieves the main objective of the study, which is to preserve the environment from pollution, as well as to obtain safe healthy food. The study also recommends conducting more studies on the use of this type of fertilizer in different quantities and for other cultivars and on other crops under greenhouse conditions. As well as the use of this type of fertilizer with different mixtures of other organic fertilizers.