Optimization of productivity and quality of cucumber plants in protected ground

Belgorod State Agrarian University named after V.Ya. Gorin, 1, Vavilova st., Maysky village, Belgorod region, 308503, Russia

^* Corresponding author: olivatv@mail.ru

Abstract

The paper studies the effect of growth stimulants on morphometric indicators of cucumber plant growth and development in the phase of intensive vegetation and transition to fruiting. The study was carried out at LLC Agricultural Enterprise “Teplitsy Belogorya” on the parthenocarpic hybrid of cucumber Tristan F1. Within the scientific and production experiment the grown cucumber plants on cotton-mineral cubes with drip watering were additionally vegetatively treated with a humic fertilizer solution and Azosol 36 microfertilizer. Phenological observations were carried out and morphometric parameters were determined: plant height, stem and leaf weight, leaf area, root system weight. Under the influence of treatments, the leaf area and weight of cucumber leaves increased by an average of 20 and 17%, respectively. It was established that vegetative treatment with the studied solutions allows partially controlling physiological processes and organogenesis of the greenhouse cucumber plant. The vegetative organs of the cucumber plant leaf, stem and root were found to exhibit different abilities to accumulate chemical elements within the two experiments. The series of element distribution in the natural substance of the plant vegetative organs are shown (in a decreasing amount, total nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium for a series: leaf – stem – root; calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, manganese and copper for the series: root – leaf – stem). The use of the studied fertilizers increased the commercial quality of cucumber fruits. Button contained a higher amount of total sugar and vitamin C, were environmentally safe in terms of the content of nitrates and heavy metals (cadmium, lead, arsenic, mercury). The optimization of productivity and quality improvement of cucumber plants using biological humic fertilizer and chelate microfertilizer increased the average yield by 5.5% and the profitability of ecologically safe greenhouse vegetables by 3.3%.