నైరూప్య

Symptoms of Nutrition Deficiency in Cucumber and their Management

Yushika Subedi*

Plant nutrients are the elements that are either constituted in plant body in the form of metabolites or externally supplied to the plant for plant nourishment, growth and effective metabolism. Cucumber requires altogether 14 nutrients to complete one life cycle. Its Carbon and Hydrogen requirement is fulfilled from air while Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium are major macronutrients; calcium, magnesium, sulphur, sodium, iron, molybdenum, copper, boron, zinc, manganese and chlorine are essential nutrients that Cucumber uptakes from soil. In Nepal, Cucumber is cultivated in all ecological belts primarily in lowlands than uplands and one of the reasons why agriculturists do not totally invest in commercial cultivation of Cucumber in larger scale in uplands is poor growth behavior as a result of poor soil nutrient. Nutrient deficiency symptoms can be clearly identified by planting crop varieties in Nutrient Omission Plots. If in case plant shows any nutrient deficiency symptom, specific nutrient must be externally supplied to the plant.