EXPERIMENTAL SITE
The experiment will
be conducted at the experimental field of the department
of crop production and land scape management, faculty of agriculture and
natural resources management, Ebonyi State
University, Abakaliki.
The
total land area for the conduction of
the experiment will measure 12.5m
x 14.5m while the experimental
plots will measure 2.5m long and 0.5m
wide giving a total plot size of 1.25m2 and a total land
area of about 181m2
consisting of (4) four equal blocks and
each block will consist of 12
plots giving
a total of 48 test
plots that will measure 0.5m x
2.5m with 0.5m between plots and 1m
between blocks.
The
experimental design to be used will be
split-split plot experiment laid out in randomized complete block design
(RCBD), with each treatment replicated four times.
CULTURAL PRACTICES
Land Preparation
The clearing of
the experimental site will be manually
done and seedbeds of 0.5m x 2.5m will be raised.
SOURCE OF MATERIAL
The cucumber seeds
and the black plastic mulch
will be sourced from Abakpa market Abakaliki. The poultry manure will be
purchased from a poultry farm in Abakaliki.
APPLICATION OF ORGANIC FERTILIZER
Organic
fertilizer (poultry droppings) will
be applied to the top of the seed planting beds. The poultry droppings will be incorporated
immediately to mix properly with the
soil.
Poultry dropping
will be applied at the rate of
0tonnes/ha, 5tonnes/ha and 10tonnes/ha, it will be allowed to stay for one (1) week before planting.
APPLICATION OF PLASTIC MULCH
The black plastic
mulch will be measured to fit the size
of the individual plots to be mulched. It will then be used to cover the
seedbeds after it must have
been leveled with rake
while the edges or sides of the bed will be held firmly with
the earth (heap of soil) to avoid
removal by wind.
PLANTING
The planting is
going to be done after the seedbeds have been made and the organic manure and black plastic mulch applied. The cucumber
seeds are going to be planted at the
spacing of 50cm x 50cm within
and between rows and each bed is
going to contain two rows with four
holes per row and two seeds per
hole making a total of 16seeds per bed.
The, the plants
will be thinned down to one seedling per hole after two weeks of planting.
WEED CONTROL
Plots without
the blank plastic mulch and in
between the mulched plots will be weeded
manually with hoes as often as may be needed
until the plants develop enough
canopies to suppress the growth of the weeds.
CROP PROTECTION
The crop will be
treated with powdered insecticide (Rambo, Rambo) with permethrin as the active ingredient on a weekly basis
from the second week after planting
to protect the crop against
insect pests of cucumber such as Podagrica uniforma, Podagrica sjostedte and spotted cucumber
beetle.
HARVESTING
Harvesting of the cucumber will be done
after the cucumber must have reached physiological maturity (may be from
60 days – 90days after planting).
Harvest will be done by hand.
PARAMETERS TO BE MEASURED
Data will be
collected from the following:-
Yield Parameters:
Fruit weight
Fruit length
Fruit width
Number of fruits
per plant
Fruit girth
Fruit Weight Per Plot (kg)
Fruits that will be
harvested will be weighed in a weighing balance at each
harvest. The total weight of each
harvest will be added up and the mean
fruit weight will be calculated for each
plot at the end
of harvest.
Fruit
Length
The length of the
fruits will be measured with a flexible tape
after each harvest and the mean fruit
length will be calculated at the
end of the harvest.
Fruit width
The width/diameter of
the fruits will be measured using a flexible
tape at the middle of the cumber fruits.
Number of fruits per plant
The number of fruits
per plant will be taken at each harvest
after which the total number of fruits
for each plant will be calculated at the
end of harvest.
Fruit Girth
The fruit girth
will be measured with a
flexible tape .
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