Influence of irrigation with saline water on vegetative growth and fruit yield of three greenhouse cucumber cultivars

Abstract EN

Salt stress and water quality have a severe and determining influencing effects on almost all vegetable crops, especially under the water shed and also the prevailing conditions of the arid zone of the western region in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Three greenhouse cultivars; Yara, Hayel and Taha were subjected to different salinity stress treatments, simulated through mixing seawater to tap water in the ratio of 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25% by volume.

Increasing the salinity stress, generally, had a reducing and deteriorating effects on seed germination as well as all vegetative growth parameters of the different cucumber cultivars.

Irrigation with the saline water, also, immensely reduced number of flowers/plant, fruit setting and crop yield as well as quality measurements.

The third order polynomial regression analyses response curves with best fitting also revealed the same trend.

Yara cultivar exhibited the best performance, showing some degree of tolerance, even to severe salinity in some cases, in comparison with Hayl or Taha cultivars.

The overall harmful effects of salinity stresses were most pronounced on the reproductive organs.