Abstract

The research to determine the interrelationship between yield and different yield components in cucumber (Cucumis sativus) using organic and inorganic fertilizers was conducted at the Department of Agronomy and Ecological Management Research farm in Enugu, South-eastern Nigeria. The treatment comprises of zero application of the soil amendment (control), poultry manure, NPK and Urea. They were laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) and replicated five times. Data were collected on vine length (cm), number of leaves per plant, number of nodes per plant, number of branches per plant, number of flowers per plant, fruit length, fruit weight per plot and fruit yield. Correlation studies were carried out to determine the component that influence fruit yield. Significant differences were recorded for all the agronomic traits evaluated. It was observed that urea gave the longest vine length of 21, 46.4 and 244 cm at 4, 6 and 8 WAP while the control had the least vine length of 17.2, 34 and 108.6 cm at 4, 6 and 8 WAP, respectively. The same trend was of nodes/plant, number of flowers/plant and fruit yield. Correlation analysis showed that in all the stages, plant height was positively and significantly correlated with number of leaves while number of flowers was positively correlated with fruit weight and fruit yield. Based on the results obtained, the use of urea will greatly enhance the production of cucumber more than the use of poultry manure or NPK.

Key words: Cucumis sativus, interrelationship, correlation analysis, poultry manure, NPK.