Research On Formula Of Organic Substrates And Fertilizers For Soilless Culture Of Cucumis Sativus

The experiment was conducted to compare the formulars (A₂,A₃,A₄,A₅) formed with different compound substrates of sawdust, mushroom dregs, corn straw, peat, river sand, and two kinds of fertilizer, chicken muck (B₁) and organic ecological compound fertilizer (B₂), on cucumber "Jinlu No3". The substrate formular A1 was took as the substrate control (CK₁) of organic soilless culture and normal soil culture (A₆) as the substrate culture control (CK₂), respectively. The effect of different compound substrate on the growth of cucumber seedling, yield, fruit quality, and the changing of nutrient content substrate during growth were also briefly analyzed. The main results were showed as follows: The substrate influenced the growth and development, physiological characteristics, yield and quality of cucumber significantly. The seedling growth and seedling index of formular A₃ and formula A₄ were better than others. The treatment A₄B₁, A₄B₂,A₃B₁ and A₃B₂ showed better in plant height, stem thicknes, leave number, dry weight and fresh weight during growth. They entered every growth period earlier. The yield and number of fruits set were high, the quality of fruit was better. All the soilless substrate showed better effect than soil in quality. In general, A₃ and A₄ were better formula for seedling growth and formula A₄ was thought the best for cucumber cultivation. Even though the difference of two fertilizer was not significant in most index, chicken muck as a fertilizer showed better effects on quality than the organic ecological compound fertilizer, but the later was cheap, convenient to use and with high nutrient utilization rates. Although the nitrate content in fruit of the treatment A₅B₁, A₅B₂, A₆B₁, A₆B₂ were a little higher, they were all in the permissible limits. The amount of nutrient content and change during growth in substrate were also analyzed. The result showed that the nutrient utilization rates of cucumber were related to the type of substrates and fertilizers, but not related closely to the whole amount of the nutrient in substrate and fertilizer. The nutrient utilization rates of treatment A₃B₁.A₄B₁ and soil were better than other treatments. The treatments contained sawdust had much high nutrient, but their nutrient absorption by plant were relatively few and the remained were very high. The profit of treatment A4B2 was the highest because of its lower substrate and fertilizer cost, and high yield. The next treatments were A3B2 and A4B1. In a word, the substrate A4 was thought the best formula in this experiment The result of this experiment will supply a theoretic basis and reference to the selection of new substrate formula, new kind substrate and management of soilless system of cucumber, and explore the new way to use organic agricultural waste.