Evaluación de diferentes densidades de siembre de cucumis sativus en el sector de Palmales-Arenillas.

Abstract

The objective of the research was to determine the effect of the sowing densities of the cucumber crop (Cucumis sativus), using different sowing distances to determine their effect on the yield and profitability of the crop; for which different sowing distances were used to evaluate their effect on the quantity and quality of production and an economic analysis was carried out. The research was carried out in the Palmales parish of the Arenillas canton. Currently, horticultural crops are being reduced due to a significant decrease in the area allocated for cultivation, possibly because farmers have changed activities or farms, as they suffer unfavourable conditions in open fields, so vegetables such as cucumbers are being grown in protected environments, facilitating the control of certain environmental factors. Under normal conditions and at adequate temperatures, around 20 fruits (cucumber) per plant are usually harvested. The cucumber crop develops without problems in different textural classes, developing better in loamy soils, with a considerable percentage of organic matter, adequate drainage; being a crop that tolerates certain soil conditions with somewhat high electrical conductivity, that is, it tolerates a certain degree of salinity, without influencing the production and content of soluble sugar. The dark green, flexible, angular, hairy (thorny) climbing stem is also typical of a creeping plant. Cucumber cultivation is a worldwide traded vegetable, being considered of economic importance as a food plant for human consumption, being sown for its appetizing fruits in the domestic area (consumed in salads and sauces); in the gourmet area (decorative dishes) as well as in the industrial area. The population density is directly related to the sowing distance, being a determining factor in relation to the increase and/or reduction of the agricultural production of several crops. Four treatments were implemented with four replicates for each, sown at 20cm treatment (T1), 25cm treatment (T2), 30cm treatment (T3) and 35cm treatment (T4) between plants, and 1 metre between rows. Seeds of hybrid cucumber HUMOCARO were used, germinated in seedbeds and transplanted according to the respective treatment. Nutrition, phytosanitary controls and crop management were adjusted to the technical demands of the crop and the area. Pruning consisted of leaving 50cm free from the ground to leave one fruit for each node up to one metre in height and then leaving 2 fruits in guide, which were classified and marketed in sacks of 84 fruits for the first class and 48 fruits for the second class, quantifying the non-commercial ones, registering the investment items and return values, thus measuring the benefit/cost ratios and the profitability of the same. The variables evaluated were: days and plants at harvest, number, length, diameter and weight of fruit, commercial quality (first, second and non-commercial fruit) and profitability analysis. A Completely Randomised Block Design (RCBD) was used, evaluating with the Analysis of Variance and Fisher's paired test, both with 95% reliability, for which the statistical software IBM SPSS statistics version 25 was used, maintaining that the number of plants has a direct influence on the number of fruits in production and profitability.