Effect of integrated nutrient management using vermicompost, wool waste and NPK on cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) growth and yield in protected cultivation

The field experiment was conducted in the shade net house at National Seed Project, Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, SKRAU, Bikaner during kharif season 2024. The experiment comprised nine treatment combinations, each replicated three times. It was laid out in randomized block design with three levels of inorganic fertilizers (Control, 50% NPK and 100% NPK) and two treatments of organic manures (Wool waste @ 10 t/ha and Vermicompost @ 10 t/ha). The experimental results revealed that the treatment T9 (NPK-100% + 10t/ha wool waste) gave significant maximum results in growth parameter viz; vine length at final harvest (3.59 m), no. of primary branches per vine (6.42), days to first flower initiation (32.10), days to first fruit set (35.01), days to first fruit harvest (42.87) and per cent fruit set (94.46%) yield and yield attributes viz; number of fruits per vine (12.88), fruit length (17.88 cm), fruit diameter (4.58), weight of fruit (138.99 g), number of pickings (7.12), fruit yield per vine (1.79 kg) fruit yield per plot (53.47 kg) and fruit yield per hectare (59.60 t/ha).