PRODUCCION DE PEPINO (CUCUMIS SATIVUS L.) EN FUNCION DE LA DENSIDAD DE PLANTACION EN CONDICIONES DE INVERNADERO

Abstract

The vegetable production under greenhouse conditions has lately increased significantly in Mexico, with cucumbers occupying 10% of the cultivated area. The planting density is a determining factor in the degree of competition between plants, and may affect the yield and fruit quality as density changes. This study was carried out at the experimental field of the Sonora University, during the winter-spring period. The objective of this study was to evaluate the production and quality of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) hybrid Modan, in response to planting density under greenhouse conditions, as well as the use of grafting. The treatments evaluated were three planting densities: 13 200, 22 000, and 26 400 plants ha-1, the first one with double stem, grafted plants. The experimental design was a completely randomized block with four replications. Days to flowering, time for plants to grow downwards, days to harvest, virus symptoms, nodes per stem, internode length, stem diameter, commercial production (fruit number per stem, fruit weight and yield), as well as fruit quality (length, diameter, firmness and soluble solids) were evaluated. Both planting density and grafting did not influence days to flowering, time to grow downwards, presence of viruses, fruit per stem and fruit weight, as well as fruit length and diameter, firmness and soluble solids. Days to harvest (72 days), stem diameter (11.2 mm) and internode length (8.7 cm), were higher for grafted plants. The yield was higher with increasing plant density in both grafted (17.7 kg m-2) and plants in their own roots (17.4 kg m-2). Fruit weight and quality parameters, were within the standards established for American-type cucumber.