EFFECT OF INTEGRATED NUTRIENT MANAGEMENT ON GROWTH AND YIELD OF CUCUMBER (Cucumis sativus L.) IN WINTER SEASON

The experiment was conducted in the Horticultural Farm of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka, Bangladesh to investigate the effect of nutrients and bio-fertilizers on growth and yield of cucumber in winter during the period of November 2019 to May 2020. The experiment consisted of single factor. The experiment was conducted in randomized complete block design (RCBD) using thirteen treatments and replicated three times. The treatments used were T0=Absolute control, T1= N75kg/ha P60kg/ha K50kg/ha (RDF 50%), T2= N75kg/ha P60kg/ha K50kg/ha (RDF 50%) + Vermicompost (3 ton/ha), T3=N75kg/ha P60kg/ha K50kg/ha(RDF 50%) + Vermicompost (3ton/ha) + Bio-fertilizer (67 kg/ha), T4=N75kg/ha P60kg/ha K50kg/ha(RDF 50%) + Vermicompost (3ton/ha) + Bio-fertilizer (67 kg/ha) + Neem oil cake (40 kg/ha),T5= N112.5kg/ha P90kg/ha K75kg/ha(RDF 75%), T6 = N112.5kg/ha P90kg/ha K75kg/ha(RDF 75%) + Vermicompost (3 ton/ha),T7 = N112.5kg/ha P90kg/ha K75kg/ha (RDF 75%) + Vermicompost (3ton/ha) + Bio-fertilizer (67 kg/ha), T8 = N112.5kg/ha P90kg/ha K75kg/ha(75%) + Vermicompost (3ton/ha) + Bio-fertilizer (67 kg/ha) + Neem oil cake (40 kg/ha),T9= N150kg/ha P120kg/ha K100kg/ha(RDF 100%),T10= N150kg/ha P120kg/ha K100kg/ha(RDF 100%) + Vermicompost (3ton/ha),T11= N150kg/ha P120kg/ha K100kg/ha(RDF 100%) + Vermicompost (3ton/ha) + Bio-fertilizer (67 kg/ha) and T12= N150kg/ha P120kg/ha K100kg/ha (RDF 100%) + Vermicompost (3ton/ha)+ Bio-fertilizer (67 kg/ha) + Neem oil cake (40 kg/ha). In this study different treatments showed significant variations on most of the parameters. The maximum plant height (186.67 cm), number of fruits per plant (17.0), individual fruit weight (181.67g) and fruit yield (34.32 t/ha) was recorded from T12. Whereas the lowest plant height (131.32 cm), number of fruits per plant (8.51), individual fruit weight (120.62 g) and fruit yield (11.44 ton/ha) was recorded from treatment T0 (control). The results revealed that there were significant difference between the application of nutrients and bio-fertilizers for yield and yield component traits. In this present study, T12 treatment showed more profitable than others for achieving the maximum growth and yield of cucumber cultivation.