Combining effects of soil solarization and grafting on plant yield and soil-borne pathogens in cucumber

Combining effects of soil solarization and grafting on soilborne pathogens, plant height and yield in cucumber were compared in a greenhouse of Bati Akdeniz Agricultural Research Institute located in Antalya in 2008 fall season. The experiment was set in split plot design containing; 1, 2, 4 and 5 months soil solarization (MSS), and non-solarized control plots (NSC) on which grafted Maximus F1+ Bergama F1 and non-grafted Bergama F1 were grown. Almost all of plants grown in non-solarized plots were infected with root-knot nematodes with severe root damages; however, only a few plants were affected by this nematode in 4 and 5 month solarized plots with very slight root galls. No resistance to root-knot nematodes was observed in both grafted and non-grafted plants. Almost half of the plants grown on non-solarized control plots were infected with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum with relatively slight disease symptoms. In conclusion, combining solarization with grafting significantly promoted early flowering time, plant vigor, early and total yields and reduced nematode and fusarium wilt damages in this study.