Botanical name: Cucumis sativus L.
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Chromosome number: 2n=14
Origin: India.
- The sex form of cucumber is Monoecious.
- Cucumbers are used as salad and preparation of pickle.
- The fruits are also consumed raw.
- Tender leaves are also used as vegetables.
- It is the second most widely cultivated cucurbits after watermelon.
- The fruits as also used as an astringent and antipyretic.
- The seed oil is used as an antipyretic.
- Fruits are good for people suffering from constipation, jaundice and indigestion.
- Fruit contain 0.4% protein, 2.5% CHO, 1.5mg iron, 2mg vitamin c /100g fresh weight.
Varieties
- Japanese Long Green
- Straight Eight
- Poinsettee.
Hybrids:
- KPCH 2
- Pant C 2.
Soil :
- They prefer light textured soils which is well drained, rich in organic matter.
- The pH of soil 6-6.8.
- Adapted to a wide-range of soils, but more suitable to produce early in sandy soils.
Climate:
- Maximum growth temperature of about 28°C.
- maximum fruit production is achieved with a night temperature of 19-20°C and a day temperature of 20-22°C.
- The minimum temperature should not be lower than 18°C for sustained production.
Sowing Time-July-Sept and Jan-Feb
Seed rate - 3-5 kg/ha
Spacing - 1.5 x 0.5 m or 1.5 x 1 m
Land Preparation
- Plough the field to fine tilth
- Form raised beds of 120 cm width at an interval of 30 cm and the laterals are placed at the centre of each bed.
Seed Treatment
- Treat seeds with Trichoderma viride or Pseudomonas fluorescence
Sowing
- Sow the seeds at an interval of 60 cm distance at the centre of the bed along the laterals.
- Sow the seeds in polybags @ one per bag for gap filling.
- Spray pre emergence weedicide like fluchloralin 1 kg a.i. or metalachlor 0.75 kg a.i./ha on third day of sowing.
Manures and fertilizers:
- Apply FYM 40 t/ha as basal and 35 kg of N/ha at 30 days after sowing.
- Apply Azospirillum and Phosphobacteria 2 kg/ha and Pseudomonoas 2.5 kg/ha along with FYM 50 kg and neem cake @ 100 kg before last ploughing.
Irrigation:
- Drip irrigation Inline lateral lines may be installed in the middle of beds.
- Distance between two drippers - 30 cm and its discharge rate is 2 L/hour. Diameter of riser is 16mm.
Cultural practices :
Training :
- Basic principle in developing training system is to uniformly maximize the leaf interception of sunlight throughout the house.
- Staking in cucumber has been found to be very effective in getting maximum yield and better quality of fruits.
Types of training
- Single stem training (60 x 45 cm)
- Umbrella system (60 x 60 cm)
- V-system (60 x 60 cm)
Pruning
- Pruning improve fruit yield and quality as the plant grows up the string, remove all the lateral buds up to the sixth node (a node being where a leaf joins the stem).
- Pruning the lateral buds allows the plant to become large enough to support continued healthy fruit development.
Pest :
Aphids &Jassids -
- Spray Imidacloprid 70 WG 1.0g/10lit.
Fruit fly -
- Set cucurbit fruit fly trap @ 4/ acre.
- The fly population low in hot day conditions and it is peak in rainy season. Hence adjust the sowing time based on season.
- Plough the field to expose the pupae.
- Neem oil @ 3.0 % as foliar spray as need based.
Disease :
Downy mildew -
- Downy mildew can be controlled by spraying Mancozeb twice at 10 days interval.
Harvest :
- Harvest can be done 45 days after sowing.
- On an average 8 – 10 harvests can be done.
Yield :
- 8 - 10 t/ha in 80 to 90 days for salad.
Storage :
- After harvesting remove all fruits affected with insect pests or diseases and deformed ones.
- The harvested fruits cannot be kept for long time and to be sent to market as soon as possible.
- Sprinkle water over the fruits to maintain freshness for sometime in the initial stage.
- Fruits can be packed in polypropylene bag for extended shelflife.
- Fruits in the basket can be kept for 2-3 days.
Reference
Textbook of vegetable crops by Prem nath k.R.M.swamy
Vegetable science by D.singh
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