Effect of mulching on yield and nutritional quality of organic cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) production at the cold arid high altitude region of Ladakh
1Defence Institute of High Altitude Research, DRDO Leh-Ladakh, India. 2ICAR-Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture, Rehmankhera, Lucknow, India. 3Ram Lal Anand College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India. 4School of Agricultural Studies, Geeta University, Panipat, Haryana, India. 5Department of Horticulture, School of Agriculture and Environmental Science, Shobhit Deemed University, Meerut, U.P., India. #: authors have equal contribution as first author. Corresponding e-mail:achuk1974@gmail.com
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2025.v27i04.128
Full text PDF This study investigates the impact of black polythene mulch (BPM) on the growth, yield, and mineral composition of cucumber crops in a cold, arid, high-altitude region of Ladakh, India. The research was conducted under open-field conditions at the Defence Institute of High Altitude Research, Leh, India, during 2022 and 2023. Two cucumber cultivars, Japanese Long Green (JLG) and BSS 647, were used in both mulched and non-mulched conditions. Mulching significantly improved plant height (JLG: 150.01 cm and BSS-647: 144.29 cm), leaf area (JLG: 166.73 cm2 and BSS-647: 164.91 cm2), stem diameter (JLG: 10.20 mm and BSS-647: 10.00 mm), leaf chlorophyll content (JLG: 29.9 and BSS-647: 30.32 CCI) and yield (JLG: 690.37 q/ha and BSS-647: 737.06 q/ha). The Total soluble solid (4.73 ºB), titratable acidity (1.00 %), sulphate (97.28 mg/kg), Mg (370.77 mg/100g) and Mn (8.04 mg/100g) content were found in BSS-647 cultivar whereas crude protein (14.83 g/100g), phosphate (650.35 mg/kg), N (2373.56 mg/100g), Zn (4.59 mg/100g) and K (3713.59 mg/100g) content were found in JLG cultivar. As per this study, mulching significantly enhances cucumber yield and improves the levels of health-promoting nutritional compounds compared to non-mulched cultivation in the Ladakh region.
