The popularity of cucumber has been on the increase over the years due to its nutritional and economic benefits. A field experiment was conducted at Teaching and Research Farm, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, (Longitude 708070N, latitude 504960E) to evaluate the influence of companion plants on the yield and post-harvest quality of cucumber. The hybrid cucumber seeds were bought from Agro-dealers in Akure. The companion crops which include sunflower, mint and marigold seedlings were obtained from the university’s teaching and research farm. A row plot was used for the study; each plot was 2m long and 1 meter between beds. The plots were separated by 1 meter. A total of 4 plots constituted a replicate. Data collected were analyzed using GLM procedure of SAS version 9.3 (2012). Findings indicted that the companion plants did not have significant impact on the vegetative characteristics of the plants. Significant differences existed for the yield and yield components of cucumber while insignificant differences were observed on the effect of companion plants on the post-harvest quality of cucumber. From the study, marigold as a companion plant had the most positive impact on the yield and yield components of cucumber. This is hence, recommended for further evaluation as thus approach can help mitigate the negative effect of synthetic pesticides on the soil quality as well as human health.
DECLARATION 2
CERTIFICATION 3
DEDICATION 4
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 5
ABSTRACT 6
Table 4: Mean Separation for Leaf Length - - - - - 26 13
Table 5: Mean separation for leaf breadth - - - - - 28 13
Table 6: Mean Separation for leaf area - - - - - - 29 13
Table 7: Mean Separation for number of leaves - - - - 31 13
Table 8: Mean Separation - - - - - - - 33 13
Table 9: Mean separation for disease incidence - - - - 34 13
Table 10: Mean separation for number of fruits per plant - - - 36 13
Table 11: Mean Separation for yield parameters - - - - 37 13
Table 13: Mean Separation for Firmness - - - - - 40 13
Table 14: Mean Separation for colour change - - - - - 41 13
Table 15 Mean Separation for Rottenness - - - - - 42 13
Table 16 Mean Separation for Taste - - - - - - 43 13
1.0 INTRODUCTION 14
1.1 Description of the Major Crop (Cucumber) 14
1.2 Description of the Associate Crops 14
1.3 Origin, Distribution and Economic Importance of Cucumber 15
1.4 Influence of Associate Crops on yield 16
1.5 Problem Statement 17
1.6 Research Justification 17
1.7 Objectives of the research 18
CHAPTER TWO 19
2.0 Literature Review 19
2.1 Taxonomy and Adaptation 19
2.2 Uses 19
2.3 Nutritional value 20
2.4 Production 20
2.6 Soil and climatic requirement 22
2.7 Cultivation 22
2.8 Management 23
2.9 Pest and Diseases 24
2.10 Harvest and Yield 24
2.11 Influence of associate crops on yield 25
2.12.2 Ethylene Injury 26
2.13 Sustainable Agronomic practices and benefits of cucumber with sunflower, mint and marigold 27
2.14 Storage 28
CHAPTER THREE 30
3.0 Material and methods 30
3.1 Materials 30
3.2 Experimental site 30
3.3 Experimental design 31
3.4 Field layout 32
3.5 Planting 32
3.5 Crop management 32
3.6 Data collection 33
3.7 Data analysis 35
CHAPTER FOUR 36
4.0 RESULTS 36
4.1 Mean separation for growth parameters 36
4.1.1 Mean separation for vine length 36
4.1.2 Mean separation for leaf length 38
Table 4: Mean Separation for Leaf Length 39
4.1.3 Mean separation for leaf breadth 39
Table 5: Mean separation for leaf breadth 41
Table 6: Mean Separation for leaf area 42
4.1.5 Mean separation for number of leaves 42
Table 7: Mean Separation for number of leaves 44
4.2 Mean separation for pest and disease indices 44
4.2.1 Mean separation for leaf infestation 44
4.2.2 Mean Separation for diseases incidence 45
Table 8: Mean Separation 45
Table 9: Mean separation for disease incidence 46
4.3 Mean separation for yield and yield components 47
4.3.1 Mean separation for number of fruits per plant 47
4.3.2 Mean separation for yield parameters 47
Table 10: Mean separation for number of fruits per plant 48
Table 11: Mean Separation for yield parameters 49
4.4 Mean separation for post-harvest parameters 49
4.4.1 Mean separation for moisture loss. 49
4.4.2 Mean separation for firmness 50
4.4.3 Mean separation for colour change 50
4.4.4 Mean separation for rottenness 50
Table 13: Mean Separation for Firmness 51
Table 14: Mean Separation for colour change 52
Table 15 Mean Separation for Rottenness 53
Table 16 Mean Separation for Taste 54
5.0 DISCUSSION 56
6.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 58
6.1 Conclusion 58
6.2 Recommendation 58
