Improving the productivity of cucumber through combined application of organic fertilizers and pseudomonas fluorescens

Deficiency of macro and micronutrients in agricultural soils is major concern for crop production in pakistan. the chemical fertilizers are being used to fulfill the crop requirements which are costly and their availability is also an issue for the farmers. the integrated use of organic fertilizer and microbial inoculants is an effective strategy for sustaining soil fertility,and has good impact on plant growth and soil health. a field experiment was conducted to evaluate different sources of organic manure and chemical fertilizer in combination with pseudomonas fluorescens to enhance the production of cucumber (cucumis sativus l.). the experiment was laid down in randomized complete block design (rcbd) with three replications. results showed that the application of organic manure,chemical fertilizer and p. fluorescens separately and in combination significantly enhanced growth,yield and fruit quality of cucumber. however,the combined use of biogas slurry and p. fluorescens showed maximum improvement in shoot fresh weight,shoot dry weight,root fresh weight,root dry weight and total yield of cucumber as compared to control (t1). this treatment also improved the n,p,and k concentration in fruit of cucumber as compared to control. the results suggested that combined use of biogas slurry and p. fluorescens could effectively be used to improve the growth,yield and quality of cucumber. so,the integrated use of biogas slurry and p. fluorescens should be recommended to the farmers to enhance productivity of cucumber. © 2015,university of agriculture. all rights reserved.