THE EFFECT OF MICRO-IRRIGATION ON YIELDS OF ZUCCHINI (CUCURBITA PEPO L.) CULTIVATED ON A SANDY SOIL IN CENTRAL POLAND

The aim of the study was to recognize the possibilities of zucchcini (Cucurbita pepo L.) cultivation on a sandy soil under micro-irrigation conditions. The experiments were carried out in 1998-2000 at Kruszyn Krajeński near Bydgoszcz on a sandy soil (Typic Hapludolls). In the framework of investigation the three field experiments were conducted in a randomized blocks method of a two-factoral ‘split-plot’ system with four replications. The first factor was irrigation used in three variants: O – non-irrigated plots (control), D – drip-irrigated plots, M – micro sprinkler-irrigated plots; the second factor were three cultivars of zucchini: ‘Astra’, ‘Nimba’ and ‘Soraya’. The average yield increase for both systems of irrigation equaled 26 t ha^-1 (85%). Unitary efficiency of water from drip irrigation was higher than that of micro-sprinkler irrigation. Among the three zucchini cultivars, ‘Astra’ showed the highest reaction on irrigation giving mean yield increase 30.3 t ha^-1 (100%).