This study was conducted in a greenhouse at the Vegetable Research Farm of the Faculty of Agriculture at Benha University during the summers of 2023 and 2024 to study the effect of foliar spray iron and copper chemical and green nanoparticles, at different concentrations, on vegetative growth and the yield parameters of cucumber fruits (hybrid variety 'Viva Sun'). The results obtained showed that the foliar spraying with different applied treatments using green iron nanoparticles at 750 mg/l and green copper nanoparticles at 50 mg/l led to the highest recorded significant difference in all studied cucumber growth parameters (plant length, stem diameter, number of branches, number of leaves, leaf area, fresh weight, and dry weight); yield parameters (total yield per plant, total yield per treatment, number of fruits per plant, number of fruits per treatment, and fresh and dry weight); fruit quality (fruit length, fruit diameter, firmness, and total soluble solids); and photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll (a + b), and carotenoids). This increase in all the above-mentioned traits of growth and fruit yield parameters compared to the control treatment and other treatments was observed after 45 and 65 days of cultivation during both seasons. It can be concluded that the foliar application treatments of green nano-iron at 750 mg/l and green nano-copper at 50 mg/l have improved the growth, productivity, and quality of cucumber plants and were the most effective treatments that can be used as an alternative to chemical nano-nutrients. |
