Response of Fish Pond Effluent on Soil Chemical Properties and Growth of Cucumber (Cucumis Sativus) in Igbariam South Eastern, Nigeria

Abstract

The response of fish pond effluent on soil chemical properties and growth of cucumber (Cucumis sativus) in Igbariam South Eastern, Nigeria was studied during 2018 farming season at the Teaching and Research Farm of the Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam Campus, Anambra State, Nigeria. The field experiment which was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD), comprised three treatments and three replications as follows: T1 – Control (No treatment): T2 – Fish Pond Effluent (40,000 litres/hectare) and T3 – Fish Pond Effluent (20,000 litres/hectare) + 200kg/ha fertilizer (NPK 20: 10:10). Results obtained revealed that, the treatments were significantly (P=0.05) different on some chemical properties of soil and Growth Parameters of Cucumber. The highest values of the Soil Chemical Properties (Available Phosphorus -6.6 mg/kg; Total Nitrogen -0.8g/kg; Organic Carbon – 5.8g/kg; Organic Matter – 10.1g/kg were recorded at the plot where Fish Pond Effluent was applied at the rate of 20,000 litres/hectare with 200kg/ha of fertilizer (NPK 20: 10:10). Fish Pond Effluent had no significant effect on the pH of the soil as the pH of the treated plots was almost at par with the Control. While the highest values of Number of leaves (37.9), Vine length (39.47cm) and Number of Branches (2.80) were also recorded at the plot where fish pond effluent was applied at the rate of 20,000L/ha with 200kg/ha of NPK fertilizer (20:10:10) at 7 WAP.