Fræðaþing landbúnaðarins - Feb 2010, Page 398

| FRæðAÞING LANdBúNAðARINS 7, 2010398
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An experiment with cucumbers (  L. cv. Cumuli) and sweet pepper
( L. cv. Ferrari) was conducted at the nursery Akur (Grænjaxlarnir
ehf.) in Laugarás. Cucumbers and sweet pepper were sown and later potted in a
mixture of compost, peat and pumice (Tab. 1). Plants were transplanted in double
rows (cucumbers: 69 cm plant to plant, 65 cm interrow distance and 90 cm distance
between the double rows, 1,5/1,7 plants/m2 (1st / 2nd cropping), sweet pepper: 40 cm
plant to plant, 65 cm interrow distance and 90 cm distance between the double rows,
2,5 plants/m2) in soil with a high content of silt and high in organic matter. Three
croppings of cucumbers were planned to perform a yearround production, however,
due to much pest, only two croppings were obtained.
 Dates of cropping for cucumbers and sweet pepper.
Cucumbers Sweet pepper
1st cropping 2nd cropping
Sowing 26.09.08 10.02.09 05.11.08
Potting 10.10.08 18.02.09 01.12.08
Transplanting 05.11.08 15.03.09 08.01.09

Cucumbers were fertilized with either a fishmeal and seaweed  mixture (30  15
g/plant) or Nugro (20 % mixture with water, mixed 1:60 with water, two l per plant).
Nugro 833 was used for early growth, but from the beginning of the harvest, Nugro
527 was applied. The fishmeal and seaweed  mixture was watered into soil with
approximately two l of water per plant. The same amount of water was applied to the
Nugro treatment. Fertilizer was applied every forth week followed two weeks later by
one l per plant of compost, for both fertilizer treatments. Due to a missunderstanding,
in the 1st cropping in the treatment fishmeal and seaweed  mixture” only half of the
amount of fishmeal and seaweed  mixture was applied during the first two times
(until 23.12.08).
Fertilizer application in sweet pepper was the same as in cucumbers, except that here
all plants received the same treatment of both the fishmeal and seaweed  mixture or
Nugro, at different times though. Two weeks after each fertilizer application, one l per
plant of compost was also applied.
Cucumbers and sweet pepper were grown under highpressure vapour sodium lamps
(180 W/m2, top lights). Light was provided for 18 hours, but the lamps were
automatically turned off when natural incoming illuminance was above a desired set
point. Temperature was kept at 22 / 21°C (day / night) for cucumbers and at 23 / 20°C
(day / night) for sweet pepper and ventilation started at 25°C. Carbon dioxide was
provided (800 ppm CO2 with no ventilation and 400 ppm CO2 with ventilation). Drip
irrigation (3 tubes per bed, dripping distance 10 cm) was used. Plant protection was
managed by beneficial organisms.
The time from fruit setting to harvest was measured and fruits were regularly
collected and classified.
SAS Version 9.1 was used for statistical evaluations of the cucumber experiment. The
results were subjected to oneway analyses of variance with the significance of the
means tested with a Tukey/ramer SDtest at p0.05.