Quality and yield of parthenocarpic cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) under polyhouse condition as influenced by organic amendments

The rising demand for environmentally sustainable food production has heightened the significance of organic farming practices, particularly in the cultivation of high value crops such as cucumber. The study revealed that various treatment combinations of biodynamic, silica and Dashparni imparted significant effects on quality and yield parameters of cucumber var. Nagene grown under protected cultivation. An experiment was conducted during the Kharif season of 2023 under polyhouse at Hi-Tech Unit, Rajasthan College of Agriculture, which is situated in Udaipur using a completely randomized design with ten treatments combination of biodynamic, silica and Dashparni. Key parameters observed included moisture content, TSS content, chlorophyll α, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll, yield per vine, yield per square meter and yield per acre of cucumber. Out of various treatments and treatment combinations, treatment T10 (BD 500 @ 75 g/ha + BD 501 @ 2.5 g/ha + Silica @ 1% + Dashparni @ 10%) was found superior for TSS content (3.97%), yield per vine (4.20 kg), yield per square meter (10.07 kg) yield per acre (40.30 t) and T6 Dashparni (10%) was found superior for chlorophyll α (3.44 mg/g), whereas least performing treatment was T1 (control). No significant differences were observed in moisture content, chlorophyll b and total chlorophyll. The study concludes that phased application organic amendments, especially combining of biodynamic, silica and Dashparni can effectively enhance cucumber quality, yield and support sustainable organic agriculture under polyhouse condition.