Response of Cucumber to Nitrogen and Potassium Fertilization in Makurdi, Southern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria

Abstract

A field experiment was carried out at the Teaching and Research Farm of the University of Agriculture Makurdi, Benue State in the Southern Guinea Savanna zone of Nigeria during 2017 cropping season to evaluate the effect of varying rates of Nitrogen and Potassium on the growth and yield of Cucumber.  Nitrogen (50Kg N/ha, 100Kg N/ha and 150Kg N/ha), Potassium (50Kg K₂O/ha and 75Kg K₂O/ha) were combined randomly with basal Phosphorous (50Kg P₂O₅/ha) to give seven treatment combinations. The experiment was laid out in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) and replicated three times. The crop data collected include number of leaves, leaf area and number of branches, vine length, vine diameter, fruit weight and yield. The result showed that application of Nitrogen and Potassium fertilizers at various rate significantly (P<0.05) increased the growth and yield of cucumber over the control. The highest rate of 150 KgN/ha + 50 Kg P₂O₅ /ha + 50 Kg K₂O/ha result to higher vegetative growth than fruit yield. The combination of 50 KgN/ha + 50 Kg P₂O₅ /ha + 75 Kg K₂O/ha gave the highest yield and therefore considered optimal for cucumber production in the study area.

Keywords: Nitrogen and Potassium, Fertilization, Guinea Savanna, Cucumber

DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/11-12-05

Publication date:June 30^th 2021