Environ Exp Biol (2016) 14: 57–61

Cumulative effect of potassium and gibberellic acid on growth, biochemical attributes and productivity of F1 hybrid cucumber

Abstract

Cucumis sativus L. is an important fruit vegetable with great economic potential. A study was carried out to evaluate the potential of exogenously applied potassium nitrate [1.0 (K₁), 2.5 (K₂), 5 (K₃) g L^–1] and gibberellic acid [0.005 (G₁), 0.01 (G₂), 0.015 (G₃) g L^–1] in combination on growth, development and yield of the F1 hybrid cucumber cv. ‘KUK-9’ under protected cultivation. Growth and physiological parameters like vine length, fresh weight, dry weight, number of branches, number of leaves, growth rate, biomass duration, chlorophyll and mineral content were observed after 70 days. Overall results suggest that all the combination treatments showed beneficial effects over the control, but foliar application of G2K2 had maximum effect on growth and development of plants. Total yield and fruit quality were also significantly higher in G2K2 treatment than in other treatments. Foliar application of potassium and gibberellic acid may be effective to maximize cucumber growth, physiological status and yield parameters.