FARMER'S BOOKSHELF
An information system of crops in Hawaii
Department of Horticulture
University of Hawaii at Manoa
CUCUMBER 1
Climate
Environmental Response
High light intensity or long days tend to increase the number of staminate
(male) flowers produced; lower light levels or short days tend to
increase production of more pestillate (female) flowers.
Leaf production is promoted under short day lengths.
Fruit production is stimulated under short day length and relatively
high night temperatures.
Culture
Soil Preparation
Soils should
be plowed at least 10 inches deep and disked or rotovated to break
up large clods. Soils should be well drained, cucumbers are quite
sensitive to oxygen deficiency in the soil.
On the other
extreme, poor moisture-holding soils would benefit by a liberal application
of manure or other organic matter incorporated into the soil.
If a soil
amendment such as lime is needed, it should be applied broadcast before
plowing and incorporated 10 - 12 inches into the soil 8 - 12 weeks
before planting. This allows the lime to react with the soil to correct
pH assuming sufficient moisture is available in the soil.
In case
a nematicide is used, the field should be treated at least two weeks
before planting for light soils and three weeks for heavy soils.
Irrigation
The frequency
of irrigation is largely dependent on soil type and weather conditions.
In general, for sandy soils with dry weather, the fields should be
irrigated at least every other day if not, more often. The best test
for the need of irrigation is to dig down 3 - 6 inches and squeeze
a handful of soil; if the soil comes apart - i.e. does not stay in
a ball upon the release of pressure, irrigation is needed.
Irrigation
is normally applied via trickle irrigation tubing layed on the soil
surface over the emerging seedling. Two or three weeks later another
parallel line of trickle tubing is usually installed about 18 inches
from the other.
16.Trellising
The major
advantages of trellising a cucumber crop include:
-
harvesting efficiency
-
pest management efficiency
-
straighter fruits
-
uniform fruit color
-
reduction of fruit loss to soil diseases
-
may result in more plants per acre due to closer rows
Disadvantages
include:
-
extra cost of trellising materials
-
labor to erect, dismantle and train vines
It is highly recommended
that the oriental slicing cucumbers are trellised, primarily due to
higher percentage of crooked fruits if not trellised.
Pollination
Field slicing
cucumbers are dependent upon honeybees for flower pollination and
all of the organic pesticides are toxic to them, therefore, if these
pesticides need to be applied to the crop, it should be applied in
the late afternoon when the honeybees are less active in the fields.
Poorly developed
or misshapen fruit may be the result of stress of some sort during
the embryo-forming period of growth. Any unevenness in seed formation
will produce misshapen fruit. A wasp shape, for example, may be the
result of late pollination (1 or 2 days after full bloom or anthesis),
causing only the ovules at the stigma end of the fruit to produce
seed. Or fertilization of the flowers may be interrupted due to internal
physiological factors such as a nutrient deficiency.
Adapted Cultivars
1. Cultivars
a. Slicing types:
Burpee
Hybrid II 8" long x 2-1/2" diameter
New
Market #210" long x 2-1/2" diameter
Sweet
Slice Hybrid11" long x 2-1/2" diameter
Lani
Hybrid 9" long x 2-1/2" diameter
Milo
Hybrid 8" long x 2-1/2" diameter
b.Slicing
Oriental types:
Progress
Hybrid10" long x 2" diameter
Tasty Gem Hybrid10" long x 2" diameter
2.Seed Sources
a. Slicing types:
Burpee
Hybrid II- 1
New
Market #2- 7
Sweet
Slice Hybrid- 2, 3, 4
Lani-
8
Milo- 8
b.Slicing Oriental types:
Progress-
6
Tasty
Gem- 5
1. W. Atlee Burpee & Co.
2. Harris Seeds
300 Park Avenue
961 Lyell Avenue
Warminster, PA 18991-0001
Rochester, NY 14606
3. Stokes Seed Inc.
4. Otis Twilley Seed Co.
Box 548
P. O. Box 65
Buffalo, NY 14240
Trevose, PA 19047
5. Sakata Seed Corp.
P. O. Box Yokohama Minami No. 20
1-7 Nagata Higashi 3-chome, Minami-ku
Yokohama, Japan 232
6. Takii & Company Ltd.
7. Known-You Seed Co., Ltd.
C. P. O. Box 726
Chung Cheng 2nd Road
Kyoto, Japan (600-91)
Kaohsiung, Taiwan R.O.C.
8. University of Hawaii
Seed Program
3190 Maile Way
Honolulu, HI 96822
Diseases on Cucumbers
Cucumis sativus
Cucurbitaceae
Cucumber
Mosaic Virus
Mosaic Virus
Papaya Mosaic
Virus
Meloidogyne
sp., root-knot nematode
Oidium
sp., powdery mildew
Colletotrichum
orbiculare, anthracnose
Cercospora
citrullina, leafspot
Pythium aphanidermatum
Rhizoctonia
sp., root rot
Soil Amendments and Fertilizers
Rely
on soil test report for lime and fertilizer requirements.
Optimum
Soil pH Range= 5.8 - 7.0
In general,
if the soil pH is below 5.8 and the available soil calcium is less
than 2,000 lbs. per acre, apply 2,000 lbs. per acre (4.5 lbs./100
square feet) of agricultural lime 8 to 12 weeks before planting.
On soils
very low in available phosphate, apply 1,500 lbs./acre (3.5 lbs./100
square feet) of treble super phosphate (0-47-0) or its equivalent.
If both
lime and phosphates are required, both should be incorporated together
8 - 12 weeks before planting.
On soils
very low in available phosphate and the grower chooses to apply the
phosphorus just before planting, incorporate in the planting row monoammonium
phosphate (11-52-0) at 1,500 lbs. per acre (3.5 lbs./100 square feet)
10 - 12 inches deep.
For soils
low in magnesium, apply magnesium sulfate (9.8% mg.) or its equivalent
at 150 - 200 lbs./acre (6 oz./100 square feet).
After pH
and phosphorus recommendations are satisfied, grower can adopt the
following average fertilizer requirements for most Hawaiian soils.
Approximately 1,500 to 2,000 lbs. per acre of 15-15-15 fertilizer
or its equivalent should be sufficient for an average crop. Apply
1/2 of the fertilizer, banded 3 inches to the side and 3 inches below
seed at planting, 1/4 at 3 - 4 weeks and the remaining 1/4, 6 - 7
weeks later as side dress and covered with surface soil where there
is irrigation moisture.
Additional
application(s) of a 3:1 mixture of sulfate of ammonia: murate of potash
or a 1:1 mixture of urea: murate of potash at the rate of 200 lbs.
per acre should be made every two weeks with the on set of harvest
as side dress and covered with surface soil. (sulfate of ammonia =
21-0-0, urea = 46-0-0, murate of potash = 0-0-61). Soluble types of
fertilizer supplying equivalent rates of N and K may be injected through
the irrigation system in place of sulfate of ammonia and murate of
potash.
Insufficient
potassium will result in misshapen fruit ("bottlenecks"), and low
nitrogen restricts growth, modifies the length-to-diameter ratio of
fruit, reduces fruit set and color development.
Some Nutrient Deficiency Symptoms on Cucumbers:
a.
Nitrogen - Mature leaves yellowish green to yellow; stems slender,
hard and fibrous; fruits light in color, pointed at blossom end;
roots stunted, later turning brownish then dies.
b.
Phosphorus - Mature leaves dark green changing to dull green; stems
slender; fruits dull green to bronze.
c.
Potassium - Mature leaves bluish green near veins, bronzing and
necrosis of leaf margins; young leaves are puckered or crinkled;
fruits constricted at stem end, plant growth slow.
d.Magnesium
- Inter-veinal chlorosis on mature leaves, veins green; mature leaf
edges brittle and ragged.
Approximate
Removal of N, P, K (lbs./acre)
N
- 50 P - 15 K - 60
Post Harvest Handling
Recommended
storage temperature and relative humidity are: 45 - 50 degrees F
and 90 - 95%. Average storage life 10 - 14 days.
Approximate Time for First Harvest
a. Slicing Types:
Burpee
Hybrid II- 55 days
New
Market #2- 50 days
Sweet
Slice- 45 days
Lani-
47
Milo- 50
b. Slicing Oriental Types:
Progress-
52 days
Tasty Gem- 52 days
First harvest
varies according to time of year, location and prevailing weather.
Approximate
Harvest Duration
Three to
four weeks, depending on the weather conditions and pest incidence
during harvest.
Estimated
Yield
20,000 lbs./acre; 150 lbs./100 feet of row
Harvesting
Most slicing
cucumbers grown locally should be ready for harvest between 45 - 55
days after planting. The frequency of harvest is usually every other
day. A grower can better control quality and uniformity if harvest
is done daily especially during warm weather. Daily harvest is encouraged
for the oriental slicing types. Slicing cucumbers should be fresh,
crisp, of medium size, well formed, uniform and of a good green color.
Consult the Hawaii Grading Standards for specific requirements.
Cucumbers
should not be pulled off the vines, it should be clipped or twisted
off. Pulled off fruits usually will have an "open wound" where the
fruit skin is torn off, this causes the fruit to shrivel around this
spot.
Insects on Cucumbers
Aphis gossypii
Glover, Melon Aphid
Apomecyna saltator
(Fabricius), Cucurbit Longicorn
Bemisia tabaci
(Gennadius), Sweetpotato Whitefly
Dacus cucurbitae
Coquillett, Melon Fly
Empoasca solana
(DeLong), Southern Garden Leafhopper
Frankliniella
occidentalis (Pergande), Western Flower Thrips
Hercinothrips
femoralis (Reuter), Banded Greenhouse Thrips
Hylemya (Delia)
platura (Meigen), Seedcorn Maggot
Liriomyza sativae
Blanchard, Vegetable Leafminer
Liriomyza trifolii
(Burgess), Chrysanthemum Leafminer
Nysius nemorivagus
White, Lygaeid Bug
Polyphagotarsonemus
latus (Banks), Broad Mite
Pycnoderes
quadrimaculatus Guerin-Mene, Bean Caspid
Thrips palmi
Karny, Melon Thrips
Thrips tabaci
Lindeman, Onion Thrips
Trialeurodes
vaporariorum (Westwood), Greenhouse Whitefly
Market/Uses
Bitterness in Cucumber
There have
been many theories about bitterness but it has been difficult to obtain
consistent information as to what causes the bitterness compound to
move from the plant into the fruit. Bitterness comes from the compounds
cucurbitacin B and cucurbitacin C. Usually these compounds are concentrated
in vegetative parts of the cucumber plant. When it does spread into
the fruit, it is usually more concentrated at the stem-end and always
just under the skin.
Temperature
appears to be one cause, cucumbers grown in the high elevations of
the volcano area of Hawaii island appears to be more common than from
lower elevations.
Different
varieties of cucumbers may vary widely in their tendency to be bitter.
Most of the longer hybrids which have recently become popular have
not had problems with bitterness.
Planting
Propagation Method
Usually
direct seeded; could be transplanted.
Planting Schedule
Year round
from sea level to 3,000 feet; April - October above 3,000 feet
Spacing
For all
cultivars except Burpee Hybrid II and Milo Hybrid. Between rows 60
- 72 inches; between plants 8 - 10 inches.
Burpee Hybrid
II produces an abundance of lateral vines and therefore the between
plant spacing should be adjusted to 12 - 14 inches.
Milo Hybrid
is considered a "bush" and "non-climbing type" cucumber plant and
the suggested row spacing be 48 - 50 inches and plant spacing be 12
- 14 inches.
Amount
of Seed
1-1/2
lbs./acre; 1/2 oz./100 feet of row
Plant
Depth
3/4
- 1 inch
