Abstract

E. K. Eifediyi and S. U. Remison

The growth and yield of Ashley variety of cucumber in response to the effect of farmyard manure and inorganic fertilizer NPK 20:10:10 was evaluated at the Teaching and Research Farm of the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Nigeria Lat 6°45’N and long 6°08’E. The farmyard manure was applied at the rates of 0, 5 and 10 t/ha and the inorganic fertilizer at 0, 100, 200, 300 and 400 kg/ha. The layout was a 3 × 5 factorial scheme with three replicates. The combined rates of farmyard manure at 10 t/ha × 400 kg/ha fertilizer increased the growth characters such as the vine length and the number of leaves. At 8 weeks after planting (WAP), the application of 10 t/ha of farmyard manure × 400 kg/ha of fertilizer gave the longest vine length of 276.93 cm and the highest number of leaves. The fruit length, fruit girth, fruit weight per plant and fruit weight per hectare were significantly influenced by the application of farmyard manure × fertilizer. The highest weight of 2.43 kg per plant and yield per hectare of 43,259 kg/ha were obtained with 10 t/ha farmyard manure and 400 kg/ha of fertilizer which were 166.42% higher than the control.