Québec-wide potassium fertilization trial on fresh cucumber under fertigation

Description

Cucumber is an important crop in many of Québec’s agricultural regions and is grown on 840 ha province-wide. The fertilization charts in the fertilization guide for this crop needed updating. The P and K doses were very high and had to be adjusted based on cropping conditions. The large amount of water cucumbers require make them good candidates for a technology that irrigates and fertilizes at the same time. Fertigation enables growers to split fertilizer applications and apply them precisely (near the root system), and as the fertilizer is in liquid form, the plant’s uptake is more efficient. Fertigation trials are not very common in Québec, but they are essential to determine how this technology should be used and what doses should be applied.

The project was aimed at determining potassium doses (5 doses) to apply before planting on nitrogen-fertigated cucumber crops grown on plastic mulch.

Objective(s)

• Determine the effect of potassium fertilizer on yields of fertigated fresh cucumber crops in Québec
• Update the fertilization charts to support crop production through strategies based on current growing conditions in Québec