Evaluation of the Effects of Rubber Factory Effluent on soil nutrients, Growth and Yield of Cucumber (Cucumis sativus)

Abstract

Rubber effluent contains high concentration of organic matter, suspended solids and various plant growth substances such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium. But attention has not been paid to its usefulness as a soil conditioner probably because of its odour. A field experiment was conducted at the Rubber Research Institute of Nigeria (RRIN), Iyanomo Benin City, Latitude 6 degree and 7 degree North and Longitude 5 degree and 6degree East in a humid forest zone of Nigeria during the wet season of 2011 to evaluate the effect of rubber effluent on the growth and yield of cucumber (var. Poinsett). Five levels of rubber effluent: control, 50,000, 100,000, 150,000 and 200,000L/ha were randomly allocated to plots using a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replicates. Data were collected on growth parameters – vine length, number of branches and number of leaves and yield characters – fruit length and girth, number of fruits per plant, weight of fruits per plant and total yield per hectare. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) for all measurements were performed using Genstat version 12 software package. The result of the experiment indicated significant differences (p<0.05) between the treated plots and the control. Rubber effluent at 150,000L/ha gave the highest vegetative traits- vine length, number of branches and number of leaves and yield characters – number of fruits per plant, weight of fruits per plant, fruit length and fruit girth and total yield per hectare of cucumber. The 150,000L/ha out yielded the control by about sixty-two percent.