Effect of Seasons, Mulching Materials, and Fruit Quality on a Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) Variety

Aims: The experiment aimed to investigate the effect of seasons (early raining and late raining) and mulching materials (Black polyethylene, White polyethylene, Grass-mulch and control) on marketable fruit yield of cucumber.

Study Design: The experimental design was a 4 x 4 factorial laid out in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Data were collected on plant morphology and fruit components; number of leave, vine length, branch number, tendril number, stem diameter; number of fruits per plant, fruit length, fruit circumference, fruit weight, number of marketable fruits per plot and number of non-marketable fruit per plot and fruit yield per plot (converted to per hectare).

Place and Duration of Study: The present study was carried out at Teaching and Research Farm of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Nigeria (located on longitude 04º33lE and latitude 08º28lN at 244 m above sea level) during the growing seasons of 2017 and 2018.

Methodology: The data collected were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using (SAS, 2003 version). Means of significant treatments were separated using Duncan`s Multiple Range Test (DMRT).

Results: The obtained results revealed that seasons and mulching materials had significant effect on some of the parameters investigated. Late season significantly enhanced the fruit length, fruit weight and total fruit yield when compared with the early seasons. The mulching materials, black polyethylene mulching materials significantly enhanced the morphology and some of fruit components; fruit length and fruit weight while white plastic mulch significantly improved the number of fruit per plant, fruit diameter and total yield of cucumber at both early and late seasons followed by grass-mulch. However, control consistently produced the highest number of non-marketable fruits when compared with other treatments investigated.

Conclusion: Therefore, planting of Poinsett76 variety towards the ending of raining seasons with the application of white plastic mulching is highly recommended for the small holder farmers.