Growth, sex expression and nutrient composition of cucumber (Cucumis sativus) as influenced by maleic hydrazide

摘要

The present experiment was aimed to evaluate the effect of maleic hydrazide (MH) with the concentration of (i) Control: 0 ppm (MH 0 ); (ii) 150 ppm (MH 150 ), (iii) 250 ppm (MH 250 ) and (iv) 350 ppm (MH 350 ) at the three stages of (i) Seed soaking (SS), (ii) Vegetative (VS) and (iii) Flowering (FS) on physiological growth, sex expression and nutrient composition of cucumber ( cucumis sativus ). Sex modification and fruit setting was enhanced by MH. Number of leaves, leaf area and fruit yield were also remarkably increased except plant height after MH application at different stages. MH increased the dry biomass of fruit resulted from higher chlorophyll content in leaves transferred photosynthates to the fruit. Chlorophyll content and mineral nutrient concentration in fruits did not affect significantly by MH. As the effect on sex modification and yield attributes, MH @ 150 ppm at vegetative stage would be a good choice.