Cucumber Information Sheet

Crop: Cucumber (Cucumis sativas L.) Member: Hanny Elsadr Growth habit: prostrate or can be trained vertically, indeterminate. Growth Season: annual Hardiness: warm season crop Sunlight requirements: 16-20 hours Greenhouse cultivars: must use parthenocarpic cultivars in greenhouse to avoid pollination requirements. Gynoecious (female flowers only produced) cultivars/plants are best suited for good yields. English type: 'Kalunga', 'Bellissma', 'Millagon', 'Discover', 'Marianna', 'Fitness', 'Aramon', and 'Fidelio', ‘Jessica’, ‘Optima’, ‘Flamingo’ (mildew tolerant), ‘Corona’, ‘Sandra’, ‘Fertila’, ‘Factum’, ‘Toska’. '90-0048', E1828', 'Futurea', and 'B-1157' are most susceptible to mildew. Miniature type: beit-alpha types (ie. ‘Tandora’) Optimal soil type: soilless media closely representing loam or sandy loam in properties. pH: 5.5 - 6.5 Pot size: 20 liters/plant Spacing: between row: vertical cordon (4-5 ft), v-cordon (5 ft) wires spaced 2.5 ft apart In row: vertical cordon (1-1.5 ft), v-cordon (1 ft) Area /plant: 5-7 ft2 Training methods: vertical cordon, V-Cordon Temperature regime (ºC): Germination: 29 Seedling: 25 Vegetative growth: 26-29 Flowering/Fruiting: 26-29 Additional requirements/notes: If temperatures go below 18 ºC or above 35 ºC fruit production will be greatly reduced. Watering regime: Seedling: keep moist at all times, water stress unacceptable Vegetative growth: 5.4 L/m2/day Flowering/Fruiting: 5.4 L/m2/day Additional requirements: cucumbers require high levels of oxygen in the root zone compared to many other crops. If oxygen is insufficient the plants may wilt. Improve oxygen in root zone by adding perlite or aerating the nutrient solution if applicable. Fertilizer regime: most of the nutrient requirements are during fruit set and development. For fertilizer regime refer to the table at the bottom of this page. Pollination requirements: If using parthenocarpic cultivars pollination is not required. Pruning systems: Umbrella system for both vertical cordon and v-cordon. All lateral branches pruned until plants reach 2-3 leaves above overhead wire, lateral shoots arising from the top 2 leaves should NOT be pruned. These 2 laterals should be trained on overhead wires and then these shoots should be trained down the wires towards the floor again. Cucumbers arise at each leaf node. For larger type cucumbers only one fruit should be left per leaf node unless the plant is very vigorous. For miniature type cucumbers several fruit may be allowed to develop at each leaf node. Any distorted fruit should be removed immediately. Flowers arising within the first 2.5 ft of growth should be removed early on to encourage vigorous growth and better yields. Days to Germination: 3-4

Days to maturity from: Seedling: 6-8 weeks Transplant: 2-4 weeks Anthesis: 11-14 days Transplanting stage (if applicable): 3-4 true leaf stage, transplants should be maintained upright. Optimal harvest stage: when fruit are 12-14 inches in long and still firm/actively growing, about 1 lb each. However, mini fruited cucumbers are becoming more popular. Fruit should be harvested before their blossom ends begin turning yellow. Harvest usually occurs 2-4 times/week in order to encourage new fruit production and to avoid over mature fruit. Expected yields: 20-25 lb of fruit/plant/12 weeks, or 1-3 lb of fruit/week. Major Pests: Insects: aphids, spider mites, thrips Disease: gummy stem blight, gray mold, downy mildew, powdery mildew, cucumber mosaic, watermelon mosaic, and Pythium root rot in NFT Characteristics of edible portion: fruit, seedless, thin edible skin, mild flavored flesh. Table 4. Formula 2. Cucumber, open and closed systems (J.B. Jones, 1983), A Seeding to first fruit g per 100 L

Fertilizer

B First fruit to termination g per 100 L

Magnesium sulfate

50

50

Monopotassium phosphate

27

27

Potassium nitrate

20

20

Calcium nitrate

68

136

Chelated iron (Fe 330)

2.5

2.5

15 ml

15 ml

Micronutrient stock1

Final nutrient conc. (ppm) N

P 2

K

Ca

133(240) 62 150 130(260) 1

Mg S 2

Cu Mn

Zn

Mo

50 70 2.5 .44 .05 .62

.09

.03

Use micronutrient formula above. Numbers in parens. are for stock B.

2

Fe

B