Nasma Mustafa Sahrawy^1* and Nasr Sheikh Suleiman¹

¹ Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Tishreen University, Lattakia, Syria.

(*Corresponding author: Nasma Mustafa Sahrawy, Email:  nasma.sahrawy@tishreen.edu.sy, Mob: +963-958472751).

Received: 10/ 1/ 2025      Accepted: 28/ 5/ 2025

Abstract

The study was conducted in Al-Breij village، located 4 km from Jableh city, inside an unheated plastic greenhouse during the 2022–2023 agricultural season. The research aimed to study the effects of foliar feeding with the bio-fertilizer “Marine” Ascophylum nodosum seaweed extract and potassium nitrate NO3 on the vegetative and fruit growth of the cucumber hybrid “Prince.” Seven treatments were applied in the study, including a control (unsprayed), foliar spraying with the bio-fertilizer at concentrations of 1 ml/L and 2 ml/L، potassium nitrate NO3 at concentrations of 4 g/L and 6 g/L and mixed foliar spraying treatments (1 ml/L of “Marine” + 4 g/L potassium nitrate, and 2 ml/L of “Marine” + 6 g/L potassium nitrate NO3). The experiment followed a completely randomized block design, with each treatment replicated four times, and each replicate containing 14 plants. Foliar spraying was conducted in three applications، spaced two weeks apart, with the first application performed three weeks after transplanting the seedlings into the greenhouse. The results showed that all foliar spraying treatments with “Marine” and potassium nitrate NO3 significantly outperformed the control (unsprayed plants) in terms of plant height, leaf area and leaf area index. The mixed treatment of 2 ml/L of “Marine” and 6 g/L of potassium nitrate achieved the largest leaf area of 9156 cm²/plant, while the control plants recorded the smallest leaf area at 5338 cm²/plant. Additionally, the results revealed significant differences between foliar spraying treatments and the control in all flowering, fruiting, and total yield traits. The mixed treatment of 2 ml/L of “Marine” and 6 g/L of potassium nitrate resulted in the highest number of flowers (75.2 flowers/plant) and the highest total yield (16.41 kg/m²).

Keywords: Seaweed, cucumber, greenhouse, vegetative growth, fruit growth, potassium nitrate.

 Full paper in Arabic: PDF