An Examination of the Effects of Different Transplanting Dates, Planting Geometry and Training Techniques on the Yield Traits, Productivity and Quality of Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) under Naturally Ventilated Polyhouse

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of date of transplanting, planting geometry and training system on the fruit yield and quality of cucumber  (Cucumis sativus L.) under naturally ventilated polyhouse at the Research Farm of Department of Agricultural Engineering, College of Agriculture, CSK Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur, The experiment was laid out in Factorial Randomized Block Design with three replications and eighteen treatments, comprised of three date of transplanting (1st fortnight of March, 2nd fortnight of March and 1st fortnight of April), two planting geometry viz., 60 cm x 30 cm, 75 cm x 30 cm and three training systems viz., two shoots, three shoots and four shoots. Results revealed that plants transplanted earlier (1st fortnight of March) at a wider spacing of (75 cm x 30 cm) recorded significantly higher number of fruits per plant, fruit length, fruit weight and total soluble solids, while maximum fruit yield  was recorded under closer spacing of 60 cm x 30 cm. With regards to the number of shoots per plant, plants with three shoots recorded significantly higher fruit yield. So it can be concluded that plants transplanted in the 1st fortnight of March, trained to three shoots and spaced at 60 cm x 30 cm apart were found to be the best for higher fruit yield and better quality of the produce.