Cucumber cultivation on some wastes during their aerobic composting

Composting waste from vine branches, flax residues and grape prunings, husks and seeds was assessed as a technique to produce a medium for cucumber production under glasshouse conditions. The composts were treated with N, P, K, Cu, Mg, Fe and marble at the very beginning of the composting. During the growing period, the composts maintained a higher temperature in the root zone, a higher CO2 production and a higher microbial biomass C level than the manured soil. They also released nutrients in accordance with the plant demands. The nitrate concentration in fresh fruits was significantly lower in the compost treatments than in the manured soil. Fruit production on the composts started 10–12 days earlier and the compost treatments showed a significantly higher yield (six times higher for the first month and 48–79% for the whole period). This simple technology had better economics than the use of manured soil.