ABSTRACT
Automated fertigation system is a highly advanced system for water and fertilizer administration in irrigated agriculture. It promises the application of water in right quantity along with right fertilizer at right time, thereby reducing fertilizer loss and labor resulting in the saving of money with the help of an automated mechanism. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the performance of a timer based automated fertigation system with a FIP. Field evaluation of the developed automated fertigation system was carried out by growing salad cucumber variety ‘Saniya’ inside a polyhouse located at Agricultural Research Station, Anakkayam. A comparative evaluation was carried out between biometric observations and yield parameters of the two sets of crops: one fertigated automatically with the developed system the other one fertigated using venturi injector. Data collected were subjected to ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) and Student-t-test. The main crop growth parameters like the height of the plant, days to first flowering, days to 50% flowering, days to initial budding, days to first harvest and leaf area index were observed. Yield parameters viz. size of the fruit, number of fruits harvested per plant and average yield were recorded during the study. Values of all these parameters were found to be better for the crops grown inside the polyhouse with automated fertigation compared to the other.
