The study of vegetable productionn the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, particularly at the Pantanal region, is important for the development and sustainability of the local commercial and small farmers that live around cities. In this context experiment was developed with cucumber seedlings production, studying the accumulation of aerial and roots biomass of the Aladdin F1, Nikkey, Safira and Nobre F1 hybrids in different cultivation environments and substrates. The experiment was carried out in 2007 using three environments of cultivation: (A1) greenhouse; (2) nursery screen with sombrite® and (A3) nursery screen with aluminet®. Three substrate compositions were used, S1 (50% soil + 50% coconut fiber), S2 (50% soil + 50% sawdust) and S3 (50% soil + 50% organic compost). The responses of the cucumbers hybrids in terms of seedlings mass depended on the substrate and environment of cultivation. The substrate "soil and coconut fiber" increased biomass accumulation of the hybrids when used the greenhouse and nursery with monofilament screen. The substrate "soil and organic compost" showed greatest biomass in the nursery with aluminet®. The 'Safira' hybrid accumulated more root biomass in screened environment and substrate "soil and coconut fiber". The 'Nikkey' hybrid accumulated more root biomass in the nursery with aluminet® and substrate "soil and coconut fiber", with no differences from "soil and sawdust" substrate. The 'Aladdin F1' and 'Nobre F1' hybrids accumulated similar root biomass in the environments, and the 'Aladdin F1' had higher accumulation with the substrates "soil and organic compost" and "soil and coconut fiber", while the 'Nobre F1' had higher accumulation in the "soil and coconut fiber" substrate with no differences from "soil and sawdust".
environment; Cucumis sativus; substrates
