Performance evaluation and technology adoption communication of cucumber in hydroponic system with liquid fertilizer from Arachis hypogea biomass

Abstract

In this study, the performance of cucumber in a hydroponics system using liquid fertilizer produced from the biomass of Arachis hypogea was evaluated to compare the performance of bio-fertilized, inorganic fertilized, and non-fertilized cucumber fruit. Coconut peats and rice husks were used as growth media, while groundnut biomass was used to formulate liquid biofertilizer, which was applied to cucumber plants in a hydroponic farm system. The physicochemical and microbial analyses were carried out on the substrate medium to identify the microorganisms present in the substrates. Two other hydroponics systems were set up for cucumber, with one treated with inorganic fertilizer and the other a non-fertilized system, which served as a control. These were monitored for six weeks, assessing the growth of the cucumber in terms of height, stem diameter, number of flowers, number of leaves, and fruits. The bacteria identified in the substrate were Bacillus spp. and Pseudomonas spp., while fungi included Aspergillus spp. and Penicillium spp. The microbial analysis carried out on groundnut biomass biofertilizer revealed the presence of aerobic or facultative anaerobic organisms such as Streptococcus spp. while for fungi, Aspergillus flavus and Trichoderma spp. were suspected to be present. At the end of the six-week planting period, it was observed that the plants treated with the liquid organic fertilizer were the tallest (83.0 cm) by the sixth week, with the largest stem diameter (7.3 cm) and the highest number of fruits (9 pieces). The control had zero fruit yield, the least height, and stem diameter. This showed that the biofertilizer was more effective than the other treatments. It was concluded that liquid fertilizer from Arachis hypogea biomass could be utilized as an alternative for the production of hydroponic cucumber without compromising the yield and quality.