Effect of Vermicompost and and Putrescin Application on Morphological and Physiological Indices of Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the effect of vermicompost and putrescine on morphological characteristics, photosynthetic pigments and yield of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. var. Yalda). The experiment was conducted as a factorial experiment in completely randomized design with three replications at the research greenhouse of the University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Iran. The treatments were consisted of vermicompost (0, 20, 40 and 60 volume percent) and putrescine (0, 0.5, 1 and 1.5 mM). Results showed that application of putrescine and vermicompost simultaneously improved plant height, leaf area and shoot dry weight of cucumber. The highest yield (2760 gr/plant) was achieved by application of 40% vermicompost and 0.5 mM putrescine solution. The lowest yield (698 gr/plant) was also achieved by application of 60% vermicompost without putrescine. Application of putrescine without vermicompost caused increased in the pigments in most of the treatments. However, putrescine with vermicompost had different results. Application of 20% vermicompost in the bedding had the greatest effect on the increase of photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a, total chlorophyll and carotenoids). Application of vermicompost without putrescine caused reduction in the photosynthetic pigments. Adding 40 and 60% vermicompost to the sowing bed resulted in an increase in the amount of chlorophyll b compared with the control.. In general the results of this investigation showed that integrative application of vermicompost upto 40% with spraying 0.5 mM putrescine can be effective for greenhouse cucumber production.