Influence of Transparent and Black Plastic Mulches and Staking on the Environment, Growth and Yield of Cucumber (Cucumis Sativus L) in Abakaliki, Southeastern Nigeria

Amidst the problems of transporting cucumber fruits from Northern Nigeria, its rising demand and its inadequate supply system, an experiment was conducted to investigate the cost effectiveness of producing cucumber in Southeastern Nigeria using the plasticulture technique (plastic sheets) and staking in a 3x3 factorial experiment design replicated four times, covering an area of 276 m2 in 36 raised flat beds of 2m x 2m manually constructed with West African dwarf hoe in 2010 and 2011 cropping seasons. The growing environment was significantly (pless than0.05) conditioned by the plastic mulches which raised the average daily soil temperature to 4.38 %, income of the farmer to N1009.00/plot, produced 11.19 kg of fruits/plot and achieved 100 % weed control. Forked-stick stake improved vine length by 2.57 %, number of branches by 37.67 %, number of leaves by 20.26 %, leaf area by 23.11 %, number of flowers by 20.18 %, number of fruits per plot by 21.15 % and fruit weight per plot by 20.63 %. Both types of plastic mulches with staking influenced growth and yield of cucumber and improved the environment effectively and can make cucumber production a profitable and sustainable venture among the smallholder farmers, hence, this practice is highly recommended for the smallholder farmers of this farming zone.