9. Results of cucumber and zucchini organic growing system under late field production conditions

The late field production of cucumber and zucchini is one of the main directions of production in Bulgaria. Until now no enough research has been done on their organic production in the country. The aim of the study was to evaluate cucumber and zucchini genotypes by applying an organic growing system under the conditions of late field production. The experiments were carried out at the Maritsa Vegetable Crops Research Institute in Plovdiv during the period 2015-2016. Two cultivation variants were tested: of natural fertility without plant protection by applying fertilization with vermicompost at a rate of 460 kg/da and with the application of plant protection potions (basil, chilli pepper, garlic and tobacco). The experiment was performed in a completely randomized block design with three replications, the size of the experimental area being 3.20 m². The seeds were sown in the beginning of July, under the scheme of 100+60/40 cm for the Gergana cucumber variety and 100+60/50 cm for the Gornooriahovska 1 zucchini line. The variations in the following indicators were reported: average fruit number per plant, fruit weight and yields. The results showed that the differences in the yields between the two variants of growing were significant for the zucchini. Compared with the cucumber, the yields were characterized by minimal differences. The study of the organic growing system is at an initial stage and it needs to be extended to other varieties and new variants of treatment.