Effect of Substrate Formulation on Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) Growth in Greenhouse Conditions

Abstract

Vegetable crops contribute significantly to the supply of essential food staples to urban markets. Cucumbers are among these crops because of their nutritional properties, which are valued by consumers. They are generally grown on the outskirts of cities. Thus, agricultural production is constrained by the availability of arable land, which is limited by rapid urban expansion. To compensate for this shortage of arable land, farmers have turned to soilless cultivation. The success of this method depends on the growing medium used. In this context, this study aims to determine an appropriate growing medium for cucumber production in a greenhouse. Three growing media were used to conduct this study : potting soil, a mixture of soil and coconut fibre, and natural soil. The plants were obtained by germinating cucumber seeds in à nursery using the formulated growing media. After ten days of germination, the best seedlings were transplanted into pots containing the various growing media. The plants were grown in a greenhouse established at the experimental site. Various growth and fruiting parameters were measured during cucumber cultivation on the tested substrates. The experimental results showed that seed germination rates and cucumber plant height were highest in potting soil. Cucumber flowering and fruit ripening occurred earlier and were more abundant in potting soil than in the other growing media. Thus, yield per hectare was highest in potting soil. This medium is therefore an effective growing medium for cucumber production in soilless cultivation under greenhouse conditions.