Effect of Composts and Water Absorbent Polymers on Marketable Yield, Nutrients Uptake and Water and Fertilizers Use Efficiency by Cucumber Grown on a Sandy Calcareous Soil

摘要

A TWO successive yours (2008 and 2009) completely randomized field experiment with trickle irrigated cucumber (Cucumis Sativus L.Var. Madina) as the indicator plant was conducted on a sandy calcareous soil at El-Saff area. Giza governorale, Egypt, tostudy the conditioning effect of hydrogels when mixed with organic composts on the growth response, production, nutrients uptake and water and fertilizers use efficiency by the plants. Examined treatments were:- (1) untreated soil, (2 and 3) soil treated with 0.5 and 1 kg compost (OM)/plant pit, (4 and 5) soil treated with 2 and 4 g of a mixture of anionic and cationic poly acrylamide hydrogels (G)/planl pit and (6,7,8,and 9) soil treated with 0.5 kg OM + 1 g G;0.5 kg OM + 2 g G, I kg OM + 1 g G and 1kg OM + 2 g G/plant pit, respectively. Examined conditioners significantly increased the dry weights; N, P and K uptake, marketable yield and water and fertilizers use efficiency by the plants. The beneficial effects of mixtures of OM and G exceed that of each conditioner when solely added. Under the conditions of the present study, applying 0.5 kg OM + 2g G to the plant pit (6 tons OM + 24 kg G/ fed.) seems to be suitable to get use of the benefits of both types of soil conditioners without adverse effects on the production.