article · African Journal of Agricultural Research
Research on cucumber crops cultivated in net houses evaluated how silicon supplementation influences yield, fruit quality, and tissue composition. Diatomite was supplied over two consecutive years using either foliar spraying or root area soil drenching across three concentrations. Applications occurred three times at two-week intervals, beginning two weeks after transplanting. Every silicon treatment increased both early and marketable fruit yield in number and weight across both trial years. Treated plants consistently produced firmer fruit at all growth stages. Effects on total soluble solids varied according to the concentration and growth stage, whilst differences in fruit ascorbic acid content emerged in only one year. Tissue tests revealed that silicon supplementation raised silicon levels in leaves and fruits, alongside increasing phosphorus and potassium concentrations in cucumber leaves compared to untreated controls.
Enhancing protected vegetable production depends on reliable inputs that boost both harvest volume and crop condition. Demonstrating that simple silicon additions through diatomite improve cucumber yields and fruit firmness offers practical guidance for managing net house crops. It also clarifies how targeted mineral treatments influence broader plant nutrient uptake, including the accumulation of essential elements like potassium and phosphorus.
The findings are relevant to commercial greenhouse growers, net house vegetable producers, and agricultural input manufacturers formulating mineral crop treatments. Because the research was applied and tested across two growing seasons using standard foliar spraying and soil drenching methods, the approach appears close to practical on-farm use for cucumber production in net house facilities.
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Silicon (Si) plays an important role in plant growth and development, but the uptake, accumulation in tissue, and beneficial effects of Si differ greatly between plant species. Net house experiments were conducted with Cucumis sativus L. ‘Shabah F1’ in 2013 and repeated in 2014 to determine the effects of Si supplementation on yield, fruit quality, and chemical composition. Diatomite (86-89% SiO2) was applied to cucumber plants three times at two-week intervals after two weeks from transplanting through either foliar spraying (50, 100, 200 mg/l or soil drenching in the root area (500, 1000 and 2000 mg/l). All treatments produced higher early and marketable fruit yield (number and weight) in both years. At all growth stages, application of Si significantly increased fruit firmness, but the effects of Si on total soluble solids varied depending on growth stage and concentration of Si. Significant differences among treatments for ascorbic acid content of cucumber fruits were found in 2013 but not 2014. Tissue analyses showed that Si-treated plants had more Si in the leaves and fruits (% dry wt.), and phosphorus and potassium (% dry wt.) in the leaves compared to untreated controls. We conclude that both foliar sprays and soil drenches of Si have the potential to increase cucumber yield and fruit quality in net house production. Key words: Cucumis sativus, diatomite, foliar spraying, soil drenching.
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DOI: 10.5897/ajar2017.12484
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