Organic cucumber production under greenhouse conditions

Organic agriculture aims to protect the natural balance and to produce without damaging the environment. The easily soluble and synthetic chemicals are avoided in organic agriculture and the chemicals are used in the natural forms. Therefore, organic agriculture has become a necessity in greenhouses where chemicals are used intensively. In the present study, two irrigation levels (soil moisture tensions of 30 and 50 cb) and four organic fertilisers (farmyard manure, 30 tons.ha(-1) + E 2001 + Allgrow Bioplasma; farmyard manure, 50 tons.ha(-1); chicken manure, 30 tons.ha(-1) + E 2001 + Allgrow Bioplasma and chicken manure, 50 tons.ha(-1)) were tested in a PE house in cucumber production during the spring season of 2001. The effects of treatments were found statistically insignificant. The average total yield was 7.01 kg/plant. During the harvest period, fruit samples were taken and analysed for their quality parameters (fruit length, fruit diameter, average fruit weight, colour, firmness, total dry matter content of fruits and total soluble solids, titratable acidity, pH, EC of fruit juice) at four weeks intervals. In terms of quality parameters, there were no significant differences among the tested treatments.