Asian Journal of Plant and Soil Sciences

A field experiment was conducted at the Teaching and Research Farm of Akwa Ibom State University, Obio Akpa Campus, in 2023 to assess the performance of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) under palm bunch ash-based organic manure combinations in Southern Nigeria. The treatments comprised palm bunch ash (PBA) + poultry manure (PM), PBA + pig manure (PigM), PBA + rabbit manure (RM), PBA + goat manure (GM), sole PBA, and an untreated control. The experiment was laid out in a randomised complete block design with three replications. Growth and yield data were subjected to analysis of variance, and significant means were compared using the least significant difference at the 5% probability level. The PBA + PM treatment produced significantly longer vines, with values of 135.80 and 179.56 cm at 6 and 8 weeks after planting (WAP), respectively, whereas the control produced the shortest vines, with values of 66.75 and 83.01 cm. The number of leaves per plant and vine girth were also higher under PBA + PM. This treatment produced the highest number of fruits per plant (7.01), fruit length (28.56 cm), fruit circumference (20.45 cm), and fruit yield (20.45 t/ha). Sole PBA produced 14.23 t/ha, whereas the control produced the lowest fruit yield (5.12 t/ha). Fruit yields did not differ significantly among the PBA-animal manure combinations. The findings indicated that PBA combined with poultry or goat manure performed best under the study conditions.