It was determined the effect of three mineral nutrient levels on dry matter accumulation and distribution of pickling cucumber plants, hybrid Crispina, grown inside a polyethylene greenhouse, in spring 1998 and in summer 1999. Planting was made in bags filled with 4.6kg of a substrate mixture composed by 40% rice husks and 60% soil. A randomized block experimental design was used, with three replications and15 plants per plot. A reference nutrient dose was supplied weekly to each one of the plants, with the following composition, in g.plant-1 : 0.8 N, 0.12 P, 0.8 K, 0.46 Ca, 0.086 Mg, 0.33m<IMG SRC="http:/img/revistas/cr/v31n3/a04img01.gif"> of a micronutrients mixture and 0.07m<IMG SRC="http:/img/revistas/cr/v31n3/a04img01.gif"> of an iron chelate. Treatments consisted of three levels of the reference nutrient dose, in the proportion of 50%, 100% and 150%, named treatments T1, T2 and T3, respectivelly, applied to plants weekly by fertigation. Dry matter of aerial organs was measured weekly. It was observed a significant effect of nutrition levels on dry matter accumulation, in both experiments. The higher fraction allocated to fruits was 0.64, in the first experiment. It was concluded that dry matter distribution on this material is not constant, due to interactions with environmental variables.
Cucumis sativus; growth; nutrients; fertigation
