Effects of Water Stress and NPK Levels on Growth and Yield Attributes of Greenhouse-Grown Cucumbers

Judicious use of water and nutrients is a key factor for successful off-season vegetable production in greenhouses. This experiment was conducted under plastic tunnels to evaluate the effect of water stress and NPK levels on the growth and yield attributes of greenhouse-grown cucumbers. Effect of three irrigation levels viz., 100%, 80% and 60% of actual crop evapotranspiration (ETc) and three drip fertigation levels, viz., 100%, 80% and 60% of the recommended dose of NPK (RDF) with control (furrow irrigation with 100% RDF) were studied in a randomized complete block design experiment. The study indicated better plant growth, a greater number of fruits per plant and enhancement in the yield under drip irrigation. Among the various treatments, T5 (W80%ETc.F80% RDF) resulted in the highest mean fresh fruit yield (66.7 ton/ha) while the full irrigation treatments T1 (W100%ETc.F100% RDF) and T2 (W100%ETc.F80%RDF) recorded the lowest mean fresh fruit yield of 12.9 t/ha and 13.9 t/ha, respectively, as against 9.6 t/ha for the control plot. Conversely, the fully stressed T7, T8 and T9 treatments reduced the irrigation requirement by 29%, 26% and 21% but the mean cucumber yield was significantly decreased by 40%, 70% and 59%, respectively. These results suggested that drip irrigation has a great scope for the production of off-season vegetables. A water deficit level of 80% ETc with 80% RDF is the most appropriate treatment and optimal level to obtain better yield, quality and profitability of greenhouse-grown cucumbers under scarce water resources.