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Article

Reducing Cation Leaching and Improving Greenhouse Cucumber’s Nutritional Yield Through Optimized Organic–Inorganic Fertilization

by
Xilin Guan
1,
Wenqing Cao
1,
Dunyi Liu
2,
Huanyu Zhao
1,
Ming Lu
3,
Xinhao Gao
1,
Xinping Chen
2,
Yumin Liu
1,* and
Shenzhong Tian
1,*
1
State Key Laboratory of Nutrient Use and Management, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Jinan 250100, China
2
College of Resources and Environment, Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China
3
Chongqing Agro-Tech Extension Station, Chongqing 401121, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Agronomy 2025, 15(7), 1523; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15071523
Submission received: 23 May 2025 / Revised: 20 June 2025 / Accepted: 21 June 2025 / Published: 23 June 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fertilizer Innovation and Practice in Sustainable Intensified Agriculture)
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Abstract

Excessive nutrient inputs from manure and synthetic fertilizers have caused great challenges for sustainable vegetable production. There is limited information about the nutritional yields and leaching losses of potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg) under various organic–inorganic fertilization practices. We hypothesized that nutritional yields and cation leaching would be influenced by different fertilization practices. A two-year cucumber-cultivating experiment was conducted in North China with the following three treatments: Farmers’ Traditional Practice (FP), based on local farmers’ practices; Current Recommended Nutrient Management (CRNM), based on pieces of literature, bio-organic fertilizer, and kaolin replacing chicken manure in FP; Nutrient Balance Management (DBNM), based on target yields and plant-based amendments replacing bio-organic fertilizers. The nutritional yields of Ca and Mg under CRNM and DBNM were 26.4–39.6% and 20.3–32.5% higher than FP. The K, Ca, and Mg leaching under CRNM were significantly reduced by 41.1%, 18.9%, and 18.5%, compared with FP. Ca leaching under DBNM was further significantly reduced by 7.9%. A significant negative relationship was observed between the leaching losses of K, Ca, and Mg and the surface soil pH (0–20 cm). These findings suggest that DBNM could play an important role in obtaining higher nutritional yields, reducing leaching losses, and alleviating soil acidification in vegetable production.

1. Introduction

Vegetables play a vital role in meeting human nutritional requirements by providing essential vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds [1]. Among various cultivation systems, protected vegetable cultivation has gained increasing popularity due to its advantages, including off-season production, high yields, superior quality, and economic returns [2]. However, driven by economic incentives and ease of management, nutrient management in these systems is often suboptimal. Improper practices frequently result in excessive nutrient leaching beyond the root zone [3,4,5]. While nitrogen (N) leaching has received considerable attention in protected cultivation systems, the leaching of other essential cations, such as potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg), remains underexplored [6]. The loss of these cations not only depletes soil fertility but also reduces nutrient use efficiency, impairs crop nutritional quality, and accelerates soil acidification [7]. Therefore, quantifying the leaching of K, Ca, and Mg is crucial for ensuring sustainable vegetable production and preserving soil health.
Cation leaching is closely associated with soil chemical properties, particularly soil pH and cation exchange capacity (CEC). In acidic soils with low CEC, exchangeable cations such as K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ are more readily displaced from the soil matrix by H+ and Al3+ ions, increasing their susceptibility to leaching [8]. This problem is exacerbated in intensive cultivation systems, such as plastic-shed farming, where frequent irrigation, high fertilizer inputs, and rapid organic matter mineralization increase percolation and nutrient loss [9,10]. It was reported that 200 kmol of H+ ha−1 year−1 will be generated by a N addition in greenhouse systems [11]. Moreover, urea- and ammonium-based fertilizers are more likely to induce soil acidification due to the nitrification process [12,13]. For example, ammonium-based fertilizers, but not nitrate-based, were observed to reduce the soil pH by 2.44 units in a 30-day microcosm experiment, which will further lower the soil CEC and accelerate the leaching loss of base cations [6]. These interconnected processes create a self-reinforcing cycle of nutrient depletion, declining soil fertility, and reduced crop productivity, posing significant challenges to long-term agricultural sustainability [14].
Several studies have investigated strategies to reduce nutrient leaching in agricultural systems. Approaches such as substituting organic fertilizers [15,16], cover cropping [17], biochar application [18], and the use of nitrification inhibitors [19,20] have shown varying degrees of success. These findings underscore the potential of integrated nutrient management, particularly the combined use of organic and inorganic fertilizers, to mitigate nutrient loss and improve soil health. Studies have shown that organic amendments, such as compost and manure, enhance soil organic matter, microbial activity, and nutrient retention, while inorganic fertilizers provide readily available nutrients during critical growth stages [21,22]. However, most research has focused on grasslands [23], orchards [7], or cropland systems [24], with limited evaluation of these practices in vegetable production systems. Although nutrient management practices are commonly used in vegetable cultivation, their effectiveness in reducing the K, Ca, and Mg leaching remains poorly understood.
Nutritional yield—which simultaneously considers the crop yields, nutrient concentrations, and human dietary requirements—has emerged as a key indicator of agricultural sustainability [25]. High-quality vegetables, rich in essential nutrients, are vital for addressing malnutrition and supporting human health. However, intensive production systems often prioritize high yields over nutritional quality, leading to a reduction in nutrient concentrations [26]. Therefore, it is essential to develop optimized fertilization strategies that enhance both yield and nutritional quality.
Despite increasing interest in organic–inorganic fertilization strategies, their effects on the nutritional yield of vegetables, especially for plastic-shed vegetable production systems, still remain underexplored. Most existing studies only focus on the plant nutrient concentration and accumulation, but overlook how many people can be satisfied by the nutrients accumulated in plants. Bridging this knowledge gap requires a comprehensive assessment of how integrated fertilization influences both agronomic and nutritional outcomes. We hypothesized that optimized organic–inorganic fertilization would improve the nutritional yields of K, Ca, and Mg and reduce nutrient surpluses and leaching losses. This study aims to fill these gaps by (i) assessing the impacts of these practices on the nutritional yields of K, Ca, and Mg, (ii) evaluating the effects of integrated organic–inorganic fertilization on nutrient surpluses and soil acidification, and (iii) quantifying the leaching losses of K, Ca, and Mg in protected vegetable production systems.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. Field Location and Experimental Design

A field experiment was conducted from September 2017 to June 2019 in Lanling County (34°52′ N, 117°56′ E), Shandong Province. The detailed location is shown in the Supplementary Information (Figure S1). The region has a semi-humid monsoon climate, with a mean air temperature of 13.5 °C and an annual precipitation of 835 mm. The average daily air temperature inside the greenhouse during the cucumber growth stages from 2017 to 2019 is shown in Figure S2. The annual double-cropping system of cucumber included two seasons: autumn–winter (AW, late August to late January) and winter–spring (WS, early February to late June). The average temperatures inside the greenhouse were 19.7 °C for the AW seasons and 22.3 °C for the WS seasons. The initial soil had a pH of 7.36, 8.80 g kg−1 of soil organic carbon, 1.10 g kg−1 of total nitrogen, 54.9 mg kg−1 of mineral nitrogen, 37.1 mg kg−1 of Olsen phosphorus, 236 mg kg−1 of available potassium, 10.4 mg kg−1 of DPTA-Fe, 15.5 mg kg−1 of DPTA-Mn, 1.3 mg kg−1 of DPTA-Cu, and 3.1 mg kg−1 of DPTA-Zn. The experiment included three treatments, each with four replicates. The treatments were as follows:
Farmers’ Traditional Practice (FP): Based on a survey of 34 local farmers’ fertilization practices, this treatment used 33.3 t ha−1 of chicken manure as a base fertilizer for each cucumber crop. Water-soluble fertilizers were applied as a topdressing.
Current Recommended Nutrient Management (CRNM): This treatment followed the guidelines from published studies and fertilization manuals. Based on 62 studies, 6 t ha−1 of bio-organic fertilizer and 750 kg ha−1 of kaolin (soil conditioner, SC) replaced chicken manure. Fertilization included compound fertilizer as a base and water-soluble fertilizers for topdressing. Magnesium was added to the water-soluble fertilizers in a 10:1 K:Mg ratio to meet the cucumber’s needs during the fruiting period.
Nutrient Balance Management (DBNM): This treatment aimed for a target yield of 97 t ha−1, which was 25% higher than traditional farmer practice. Firstly, based on recent organic material comparison trials [27], plant-based amendments—6.3 t ha−1 of biochar, 2.4 t ha−1 of peat, 1.5 t ha−1 of mushroom residues, and 750 kg ha−1 of kaolin—replaced the animal-based fertilizers used in CRNM. Chemical fertilizers were optimized to meet cucumber nutrient demands.
Chicken manure and mushroom residues were bought from the local market. The bio-organic fertilizer was bought from Qingyu Agriculture Science Technology Company (Linyi, China). The kaolin was bought from Zhongcaidingyuan Ecological Fertilizer Company (Ulanqab, China). The biochar was made from rice husk at 450–500 °C (Nanjing Qinfengjiegan Co., Ltd., Nanjing, China). The peat was bought from Shenghe Agriculture Science Technology Company (Weifang, China). Detailed compositions of organic materials are listed in Table S1. The nutrient inputs from organic materials and chemical fertilizers for all treatments are listed in Table 1.
The area of each plot was 48 m2 (12 m × 4 m), and each plot was partitioned into a plant sampling zone, a leachate sampling zone, and a yield measurement zone. Each plot had four ridges and three beds, and the widths of the ridges and beds were 40 cm and 80 cm, respectively. The grafted cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) seedlings were obtained by pumpkin (cultivar Zhenshengxin NO.431) and cucumber (cultivar Boxin 10-2), with the cucumber used as scion and the pumpkin as rootstock. At the third-leaf stage, two lines of cucumber were transplanted into each bed with a plant spacing of 30 cm and covered with black polyethylene film. Organic materials and base fertilizers were incorporated into the top 20 cm of soil before transplanting. A soil surface drip-irrigation system (Ruize Modern Agriculture Co., Ltd., Linyi, China) was used for irrigation and the in-season application of soluble compound fertilizers. The total amount of irrigation was approximately 300 mm and 450 mm during each AW and WS season, respectively, with each irrigation applying 10–40 mm of water.

2.2. Sample Collection and Analysis

Plant samples were collected at four stages: flowering, initial fruit, full fruit, and final fruit. Two uniformly growing plants were randomly selected per plot, washed with tap water, separated into roots, stems, leaves, and fruits, and oven-dried at 75 °C to a constant weight. Cucumbers > 30 cm were collected at harvest. Every 2–5 days, 54 fruits were harvested from the two central rows per plot, and the total yield was calculated as the cumulative fruit weight over the season.
Plant tissues were digested in an HNO3-H2O2 mixture (6 mL HNO3 and 2 mL H2O2) using a microwave digester (CEM, Matthews, NC, USA). K, Ca, and Mg concentrations were measured with an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES, OPTIMA 3300 DV, Perkin-Elmer, Waltham, MA, USA). Standard reference material IPE126 (Wageningen University, The Netherlands) ensured quality control.
Soil samples were collected at six stages: before planting, seedling, flowering, initial fruit, full fruit, and final fruit. Three subsamples from the 0–60 cm layer (at 20 cm intervals) were composited per plot. Available K, Ca, and Mg were extracted with 1 mM ammonium acetate at a soil/water ratio of 1:30 and analyzed using ICP-OES. The soil’s pH was determined with a pH meter (SevenExcellence, Mettler-Toledo, Shanghai, China) at a soil/water ratio of 1:2.5.
Leaching devices (120 cm × 60 cm × 20 cm) were installed at a depth of 60 cm, each connected via rubber hoses to a 27 L collection container placed adjacent to the device. Leachate was collected weekly by gravity and extracted using a vacuum pump [28,29]. The leachate volume was recorded, and a 100 mL subsample was stored at −20 °C. The K, Ca, and Mg concentrations were determined using ICP-OES (OPTIMA 3300 DV, Perkin-Elmer, Waltham, MA, USA). The total leaching losses were calculated based on the nutrient concentrations and leachate volume [30].

2.3. Key Parameter Calculations

Nutritional yield (NYi), as defined by DeFries et al. [25], is the amount of a specific nutrient produced per unit area per year to meet the recommended dietary intake (DRI) for an adult. It was calculated as follows:
NYᵢ = [(gᵢ/100 g)/DRIᵢ] × (tons/ha/year) × 104/365
where NYᵢ is the nutritional yield of nutrient i, and (gᵢ/100 g)/DRIᵢ is the proportion of the DRI provided by 100 g of food. The nutrient yields for K, Ca, and Mg were calculated using the DRI values for people aged 19–50 [31], with their respective DRI values being 2400 mg/day, 1300 mg/day, and 220 mg/day.
The nutrient surplus was calculated as follows:
Nutrient surplus = Nutrient input − Nutrient output
The nutrient input included chemical and organic fertilizers and irrigation; output referred to plant uptake [32].

2.4. Statistical Analysis

Statistical analyses were conducted using SAS (v 8.0, Cary, NC, USA). A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed using SAS to evaluate the effects of cropping sequence and nutrient management on plant dry weight, nutrient uptake, leaching losses, and nutritional yields. When significant, treatment means were compared using Fisher’s Least Significant Difference (LSD) test at a p < 0.05. Experimental data were visualized in Excel 2020, and SigmaPlot 13.0 (Inpixon, Palo Alto, CA, USA)was used to examine the correlations between soil pHs at various depths and leaching losses of K, Ca, and Mg.

3. Results

3.1. Nutritional Yield and Fruit Quality

The Ca and Mg nutritional yields in the DBNM and CRNM treatments were significantly higher than those in FP. However, no significant differences in K nutritional yield were observed among the treatments (Figure 1). The winter–spring cucumbers had higher Ca and Mg nutritional yields than the autumn–winter cucumbers.
The Ca and Mg concentrations in fruits from CRNM and DBNM were significantly higher than those from FP, while the K concentrations did not differ significantly among the treatments. Two-way ANOVA revealed that fruit nutrient concentrations were strongly influenced by the cropping season, with Mg showing a significant interaction effect (Table 2).

3.2. Surpluses and Leaching Losses of Potassium, Calcium, and Magnesium

Compared to FP, the surpluses of K, Ca, and Mg were significantly reduced by 70.2%, 63.2%, and 55.1%, respectively, in CRNM. Further reductions were observed in DBNM, where the surpluses were 33.8%, 3.7%, and 18.2% lower than in CRNM (Table S2).
The average K concentrations in leachates were 1.62, 0.98, and 0.91 mg L−1 for FP, CRNM, and DBNM, respectively. The average Ca concentrations were 269, 224, and 203 mg L−1, and the Mg concentrations were 25.8, 21.5, and 21.2 mg L−1 (Figure S3).
The Ca leaching losses were substantially higher than those of Mg and K. In the FP treatment, the average leaching losses for Ca, Mg, and K were 280 kg ha−1, 27 kg ha−1, and 1.7 kg ha−1 (Table 3). Compared to FP, CRNM significantly reduced the leaching losses of Ca, Mg, and K by 18.9%, 18.5%, and 41.1%, respectively. In comparison, there were no significant differences in the Mg and K leaching losses between CRNM and DBNM. The Ca leaching loss in DBNM was significantly reduced by 7.9% compared to CRNM.

3.3. Soil Nutrient Content, pH, and the Relationship Between pH and Leaching Losses

After four seasons, both CRNM and DBNM significantly reduced the available K and Mg concentrations in the 0–20 cm and 20–40 cm soil layers relative to FP. The Ca concentrations were higher in the 40–60 cm layer than in the upper layers, potentially contributing to the greater Ca leaching observed (Figure 2).
In the FP treatment, nutrient concentrations in the 20–40 cm and 40–60 cm layers were significantly higher than in the initial soil, indicating downward nutrient migration and an increased risk of leaching (Figure 2).
The soil pH in the 0–20 cm layer decreased after four seasons compared to the initial level, whereas the pHs in the 20–40 cm and 40–60 cm layers increased. The surface soil (0–20 cm) pH in FP was significantly lower than in CRNM and DBNM. No significant differences were observed in the pHs of the 20–40 cm and 40–60 cm layers among treatments (Figure 3).
The surface soil pH was negatively correlated with the leaching losses of K, Ca, and Mg, suggesting that higher leaching was associated with a lower pH. However, no significant correlation was observed between leaching losses and pH in the 40–60 cm layer (Figure 4).

4. Discussion

Vegetables play a vital role in averting malnutrition, an issue affecting approximately 33% of the world’s population [33]. In the present study, the corresponding characteristics in nutritional yield and cation leaching losses showed different attributes under various treatments. Nutritional yield was introduced as a metric to evaluate the impact of different fertilization practices on the concentrations of K, Ca, and Mg in cucumbers. The nutritional yields of Ca and Mg under DBNM and CRNM treatments were significantly higher compared with FP, whereas no significant difference was obtained in the K nutritional yield among treatments (Figure 1). In other words, the adoption of our technologies in cucumbers satisfied the annual requirements of Ca and Mg for more people. The increased concentrations of Ca and Mg, but not for K, may be an important factor for the increase in nutritional yields of Ca and Mg under CRNM and DBNM. Several reasons may explain the different responses of these elements: (1) An excessive K input will inhibit the uptake of Ca and Mg by plants [34,35]. The K input under FP (979 kg ha−1) was 2.1–2.7 times higher than that under CRNM and DBNM, which greatly exceeded the cucumber K demand. (2) An excessive total nutrient input and accumulation of N, P, and K in soil under FP will suppress the development of growth and exacerbate Ca deficienciy in vegetable production systems [36,37,38,39]. (3) Silicon plays an important role in promoting cucumber growth and enhancing stress resistance [40,41,42]. Soil conditioner (Kaolin) applied under CRNM and DBNM will supply silicon to promote cucumber growth. The nutritional yield in the WS seasons was higher than that in the AW seasons, which might be due to higher yields and nutrient concentrations induced by the relatively longer growth stages and higher temperatures (Figure S2). Collectively, our fertilization management practices realized relatively high nutritional yields of Ca and Mg in cucumbers.
Long-term excessive nutrient inputs will decrease the soil pH and accelerate soil acidification. In the present study, the soil pH was 0.09–0.34 units lower than the initial soil pH after four seasons of cultivation. A study conducted in North China also found a 1.8–2.7 unit reduction in the soil pH after tomato cultivation [6]. However, other studies in South China have reported an increase in pH compared with the initial soil through organic fertilizer application [43,44]. The different response of pH to organic fertilizer application might be attributed to the initial soil pH. The soil pH increased with organic fertilizer application when the initial soil pH ≤ 6, while the soil pH reduced when the soil pH > 8 [45]. CRNM and DBNM significantly increased soil pH by 0.18 and 0.25 units compared with FP, which indicated that soil acidification can be alleviated through optimized organic-inorganic fertilization. The difference might be due to various nitrogen inputs, organic materials properties, and cation leaching. Many studies have mentioned that nitrogen fertilizer will decrease the soil pH by affecting the transformation of nitrogen [46,47]. The nitrogen input under FP was much higher than that under CRNM and DBNM, regardless of the nitrogen source (Table 1). It has also been reported that the application of lime materials is an effective strategy for managing soil acidification [48,49]. A meta-analysis revealed that biochar with a high pH (>10) can significantly enhance the soil pH by 7.26% [50]. The pH of soil conditioner (Kaolin) applied in CRNM and DBNM was as high as 12.3, which might mitigate soil acidification to some extent. Cation leaching loss was reported to cause the soil to become acidic [51], which was also confirmed by the significant negative relationship between cation leaching loss and soil pH in the present study (Figure 4).
Excessive fertilization and irrigation are common causes of nutrient leaching in agricultural systems [52]. In the present study, the average leaching losses of K, Ca, and Mg were lower than those observed in other studies [6,10], which might be due to the lower irrigation amount and the adoption of a drip-irrigation system. Some studies reported that the irrigation method and irrigation amount dominated nutrient leaching in plastic-shed vegetable production systems [2,53]. The leaching loss of Ca was much higher than K and Mg, which was comparable to that in the wax gourd production system in South China [54]. The base cations leaching in FP were significantly higher than those in CRNM and DBNM, especially for Ca. One reason for the higher Ca leaching in FP might be the higher Ca input, and the other might be the lower soil pH. Soil acidification would largely decrease the levels of soil base cations [46]. H+ ions in lower pH soil usually displace Ca2+ from the soil-exchange surface into pore water and increase the mobilization and leaching risk of Ca2+ [55], which can be proved by the relatively lower exchangeable Ca concentration in FP in the present study (Figure 2B). The loss of base cations, in turn, could hamper the soil’s buffering capacity and lead to a further pH decline [56]. Moreover, a study demonstrated that nitrate leaching could drive the leaching loss of Ca and Mg [6]. Nitrate leaching was also measured in our experiment. The nitrate leaching in FP was significantly higher than that in CRNM and DBNM. Therefore, the higher base cation leaching in FP might also due to higher nitrate leaching. Considering the nutritional yield, soil pH change, and cations leaching loss, we found that recommendations for fertilization management in cucumber production should be based on both the cucumber and human nutrient demands. The K, Ca, and Mg inputs under CRNM and DBNM could satisfy cucumber and human demands and reduce cation leaching loss. Joint efforts from the government, researchers, and agro-tech extension workers should be made to publicize those technologies and provide technical guidance to farmers.

5. Conclusions

In the Farmers’ Traditional Practice (FP), the average leaching losses for Ca, Mg, and K were 280 kg ha−1, 27 kg ha−1, and 1.7 kg ha−1 due to excessive nutrient input. Compared with FP, optimized organic–inorganic fertilization (CRNM and DBNM) significantly improved the nutritional yields of Ca and Mg by 20.3–39.6% and reduced the seasonal leaching losses of K, Ca, and Mg by 18.5–47.1%. Moreover, there was a significantly negative relationship between cation leaching loss and surface soil pH. The K, Ca, and Mg inputs under CRNM and DBNM not only satisfy cucumber and human demands but also can alleviate soil acidification. Therefore, to realize the high nutritional yield of cucumber, alleviate soil acidification and mitigate the environmental risks of cation leaching in the greenhouse cucumber production system, an optimized organic and inorganic nutrient management practices should be implemented in this region.

Supplementary Materials

The following supporting information can be downloaded at: https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/agronomy15071523/s1, Figure S1: Location of the field experimental sites.; Figure S2: Average daily air temperature inside the greenhouse for the autumn-winter (AW) and winter-spring (WS) of 2017 to 2019; Figure S3: Concentrations of K (A–D), Ca (E–H), and Mg (I–L) in the leachate under different treatments from 2017 to 2019; Table S1: The pH and composition of organic materials used in the experiment; Table S2: Input, output, and surplus of K, Ca, and Mg under different treatments from 2017 to 2019.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, X.G. (Xilin Guan); Formal analysis, X.G. (Xilin Guan), S.T. and W.C.; Funding acquisition, X.G. (Xilin Guan), S.T. and X.G. (Xinhao Gao); Investigation, D.L., H.Z. and M.L.; Methodology, X.G. (Xinhao Gao); Project administration, X.C. and Y.L.; Resources, X.G. (Xinhao Gao) and X.C.; Software, D.L.; Supervision X.C.; Validation, X.G. (Xinhao Gao); Visualization, X.C. and Y.L.; Writing—original draft, X.G. (Xilin Guan); Writing—review and editing, X.C. and Y.L. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

The work was supported by the Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (ZR2023QD044), the Shandong Province Key Research and Development Program (2023TZXD088), the Technical System of Ecological Agriculture of Modern Agricultural Technology System in the Shandong Province (SDAIT-30-15), and the Agricultural Scientific and Technological Innovation project of Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CXGC2025C04).

Data Availability Statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the staff at the College of Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Southwest University for their assistance with the sample test. We thank K. Das from the USA for improving the English of the manuscript.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Agronomy 15 01523 g001
Figure 1. The nutritional yields of K (A), Ca (B), and Mg (C) under different treatments from 2017 to 2019. The values are represented by the means + SE of four replicates. The means with the same lowercase letters indicate no significant differences among different treatments in the same growing season, while those with the same capital letters indicate no significant difference among different seasons at p < 0.05, according to LSD.
Figure 1. The nutritional yields of K (A), Ca (B), and Mg (C) under different treatments from 2017 to 2019. The values are represented by the means + SE of four replicates. The means with the same lowercase letters indicate no significant differences among different treatments in the same growing season, while those with the same capital letters indicate no significant difference among different seasons at p < 0.05, according to LSD.
Agronomy 15 01523 g001
Agronomy 15 01523 g002
Figure 2. Soil available K (Ac-K, (A)), available Ca (Ac-Ca, (B)), and available Mg (Ac-Mg, (C)) at 0–20 cm, 20–40 cm, and 40–60 cm soil depths for the initial soil (IS) and the soil after four seasons. The values are represented by the means of four replicates. The means with the same letters in the same row indicate no significant difference according to LSD (p > 0.05).
Figure 2. Soil available K (Ac-K, (A)), available Ca (Ac-Ca, (B)), and available Mg (Ac-Mg, (C)) at 0–20 cm, 20–40 cm, and 40–60 cm soil depths for the initial soil (IS) and the soil after four seasons. The values are represented by the means of four replicates. The means with the same letters in the same row indicate no significant difference according to LSD (p > 0.05).
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Agronomy 15 01523 g003
Figure 3. Soil pHs at 0–20 cm, 20–40 cm, and 40–60 cm depths under different treatments after four seasons. The values are the means ± SE of four replicates. The red lines indicate the initial soil pH at different soil depths. The means with the same letters indicate no significant difference among treatments in the same soil depth (p > 0.05).
Figure 3. Soil pHs at 0–20 cm, 20–40 cm, and 40–60 cm depths under different treatments after four seasons. The values are the means ± SE of four replicates. The red lines indicate the initial soil pH at different soil depths. The means with the same letters indicate no significant difference among treatments in the same soil depth (p > 0.05).
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Agronomy 15 01523 g004
Figure 4. Relationships between soil pH and the amount of total K (A), Ca (B), and Mg (C) leaching losses at 0–20 cm, 20–40 cm, and 40–60 cm soil after four seasons. ***, * indicate the correlation level at the p < 0.001, and p < 0.05 levels, respectively. There were 12 data points for each soil profile.
Figure 4. Relationships between soil pH and the amount of total K (A), Ca (B), and Mg (C) leaching losses at 0–20 cm, 20–40 cm, and 40–60 cm soil after four seasons. ***, * indicate the correlation level at the p < 0.001, and p < 0.05 levels, respectively. There were 12 data points for each soil profile.
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Table 1. Detailed nutrient inputs from organic materials and chemical fertilizers.
Table 1. Detailed nutrient inputs from organic materials and chemical fertilizers.
TreatmentFPCRNMDBNM
Nutrients from organic materials
Organic materialsChicken manurebio-organic fertilizerPlant-source materials
Rate (t ha−1)33.36.010.2
N (kg N ha−1)5708787
P (kg P2O5 ha−1)61511525
K (kg K2O ha−1)5405656
Ca (kg Ca ha−1)881220202
Mg (kg Mg ha−1)1824638
Nutrients from chemical fertilizer
N (kg N ha−1)500313196
P (kg P2O5 ha−1)40013075
K (kg K2O ha−1)635419314
Ca (kg Ca ha−1)000
Mg (kg Mg ha−1)03526
Total nutrient inputs
N (kg N ha−1)1070400283
P (kg P2O5 ha−1)1015245100
K (kg K2O ha−1)1175475370
Ca (kg Ca ha−1)881220202
Mg (kg Mg ha−1)1828164
Table 2. Fruit and plant dry weights (DWs) and the K, Ca, and Mg concentrations of fruits under different treatments from 2017 to 2019.
Table 2. Fruit and plant dry weights (DWs) and the K, Ca, and Mg concentrations of fruits under different treatments from 2017 to 2019.
SeasonTreatmentFruit DW
(t ha−1)		Plant DW
(t ha−1)		Fruit Nutrient Concentration (g kg−1)
(S)(T)KCaMg
2017 A–WFP1.37a4.18a74.1a9.5b3.8b
CRNM1.58a4.58a72.6a11.4a4.3a
DBNM1.34a4.46a72.4a11.0a4.4a
2018 S–SFP2.00b5.65a48.8a8.2b2.8b
CRNM2.21a5.99a50.0a9.8a3.4a
DBNM2.02b5.72a48.3a10.5a3.4a
2018 A–WFP1.52b5.25a46.4a6.3b2.9b
CRNM1.74a5.58a45.7a7.3a3.1a
DBNM1.70a5.39a45.0a7.3a3.2a
2019 S–SFP1.68b5.09a49.8a6.8b2.7b
CRNM2.02a5.61a48.9a8.9a3.2a
DBNM1.79ab5.16a49.2a8.6a3.1a
T *****ns******
S ***************
S × T nsnsnsns*
Note: Values are means of four replicates. The means with the same letters in the same growing season indicate no significant difference according to LSD (p > 0.05). “***” means significant at p < 0.001; “**” means significant at p < 0.01; “*” means significant at p < 0.05, and ns means no significant.
Table 3. Total water percolation at 60 cm depth and seasonal K, Ca, and Mg leaching losses from 2017 to 2019.
Table 3. Total water percolation at 60 cm depth and seasonal K, Ca, and Mg leaching losses from 2017 to 2019.
Season
(S)		Treatment
(T)		Water Percolation (mm)Cations Leaching Loss (kg ha−1)
KCaMg
AW 2017FP99a1.9a279a24a
CRNM98a1.5a244b22a
DBNM101a1.5a226b22a
WS 2018FP97a0.7a188a17a
CRNM95a0.6a164ab16a
DBNM98a0.5a134b14a
AW 2018FP99a1.4a298a27a
CRNM99a0.9b236b19a
DBNM97a1.0ab238b23a
WS 2019FP116a2.8a356a40a
CRNM111a1.0b266b31a
DBNM119a0.7b239b29a
AVAFP103a1.7a280a27a
CRNM101a1.0b227b22b
DBNM104a0.9b209c22b
T ns*******
S ***********
S × T ns***nsns
Note: The values are represented by means of four replicates. The means with the same letters in the same growing season are not significantly different according to LSD (p > 0.05). “***” means significant at p < 0.001; “**” means significant at p < 0.01; “*” means significant at p < 0.05; and ns means no significant.
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MDPI and ACS Style

Guan, X.; Cao, W.; Liu, D.; Zhao, H.; Lu, M.; Gao, X.; Chen, X.; Liu, Y.; Tian, S. Reducing Cation Leaching and Improving Greenhouse Cucumber’s Nutritional Yield Through Optimized Organic–Inorganic Fertilization. Agronomy 2025, 15, 1523. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15071523

AMA Style

Guan X, Cao W, Liu D, Zhao H, Lu M, Gao X, Chen X, Liu Y, Tian S. Reducing Cation Leaching and Improving Greenhouse Cucumber’s Nutritional Yield Through Optimized Organic–Inorganic Fertilization. Agronomy. 2025; 15(7):1523. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15071523

Chicago/Turabian Style

Guan, Xilin, Wenqing Cao, Dunyi Liu, Huanyu Zhao, Ming Lu, Xinhao Gao, Xinping Chen, Yumin Liu, and Shenzhong Tian. 2025. "Reducing Cation Leaching and Improving Greenhouse Cucumber’s Nutritional Yield Through Optimized Organic–Inorganic Fertilization" Agronomy 15, no. 7: 1523. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15071523

APA Style

Guan, X., Cao, W., Liu, D., Zhao, H., Lu, M., Gao, X., Chen, X., Liu, Y., & Tian, S. (2025). Reducing Cation Leaching and Improving Greenhouse Cucumber’s Nutritional Yield Through Optimized Organic–Inorganic Fertilization. Agronomy, 15(7), 1523. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15071523

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