Cultivation of Cucumber

September 30, 2020 Agrovista

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family. Cucumber is an important summer vegetable commonly grown throughout India. The cucumber plant is a creeper and has a climbing or trailing habit. The tender fruits are eaten raw or with salt in a salad. They are also used as a cooked vegetable. It is also reported that the oil extracted from seeds is good for the brain and body. Drinking water immediately after eating cucumber should be avoided, as it sometimes causes severe indigestion

Common Name of Cucumber in India:

Kamal Kakdi (Hindi)
Kakkari (Malayalam)
Kakdi-Maraihi)
Dosakaya/Keera (Telugu),
Vellarikkai (Tamil)

Nutrient Value of Cucumbers: The nutrient value of a 100-gram portion of cucumber is as follows:

Serving Size: 100 g		%DV
Calories	15 kcal
Total Carbohydrate	3.6 g	1%
Dietary Fiber	0.5 g	100.00%
Sugar	1.7 g	0%
Protein	0.7 g	46%
Cholesterol	0	0%
Saturated fat	1.5 g	7%
Sodium	2 mg	0%
Potassium	147 mg	3%
Iron	0.3	2%
Calcium	16 mg	1%
Vitamin D		0%
Cobalamin		0%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

Soil Requirements for Cucumber Cultivation

The cucumber is a warm-season crop and it grows best at a temperature between 18°C and 24°C. It does not withstand even light frost.

Soil and its preparation for Cucumber Cultivation;

Cucumbers can be grown in all soils, from sandy to heavy soils. Loam, silt loam, and clay loam soils are considered best for getting a higher yield. Soil pH between 5.5. and 6.7 is favorable for its cultivation. The land should be prepared thoroughly.

Varieties of Cucumber;

Variety	Developed By	Characteristics
Pusa Barkha	IARI, New Delhi	A first extra early variety of cucumber for Kharif season cultivation for North Indian plains. It is field tolerant to high humidity, high temperature, and downy mildew disease. Ready for first harvesting in 40-45 days after sowing. The average fruit yield is 18.8 t/ha during the Kharif season.
Pusa Uday	IARI, New Delhi	Suitable for cultivation both in the spring-summer and rainy seasons. Maturity 50-55 days. Average Yield: 155 q/ha, which is 28% higher over the check (Poinsette).
Punjab Kheera-1	PAU, Ludhiyana	Released in 2018. It has dark green color fruits which are bitter less, having an average weight of 125gm and an average length of 13–15 cm. harvesting can be done after 45 and 60 days of sowing in September and January month sown crop. It gives an average yield of 304 qtl/acre when it is sown in September and 370qtl/acre when sown in January
Punjab Naveen	The variety is developed in 2008.This variety of plant has dark green color leaves, fruits are uniformly cylindrical in shape and are light green in color with a smooth surface. The fruits are crispy, bitter free and contain soft seed. It contains high amount of Vitamin C content and contains high quality of dry matter. The variety gets mature within 68 days. The fruit has excellent taste, attractive color and appearance, good in size and texture. It gives an average yield of 70 qtl/acre.
DC-83	IARI, New Delhi	Straight, rudimentary spines, soft skinned with tender and crispy flesh. Harvest at 45-50 DAS, yield potential of 200-250 q/ha. • Seed rate: 1.0- 2.0 kg/ha, Sowing time: Kharif and Spring-summer • States: Punjab, U.P., Bihar and Jharkhand
DGCH-18	IARI , New Delhi	Gynoecy based hybrid of cucumber with predominately gynoecious behavior, earliness (45 DAS); suitable for spring summer and Kharif season cultivation. Yield: 240 q/ha • Seed rate: 1.0- 2.0 kg/ha, Sowing time: Kharif and Spring-summer • States: J&K, H.P. and Uttarakhand
Kashi Nutan	IIVR, Varanasi	Early maturing hybrid, cylindrical long, light green colour with mottling at peduncle end,resistant to downy mildew, suitable for Kharif and summer, yield 17.5 t/ha, S/rate: 350 g/ha.
Solan Srijan	YSPUH&F,Solan	A prolific fruit bearer gets mature in 55-60 days after sowing. Fruits are cylindrical, crispy, and green in color having 18-22 cm length with an average fruit weight of 255-265 g. Bears around 10-15 fruits /plants.• Average yield is 200-225 q/ha.• Suitable for cultivation in HP and other hilly states
Heera	KAU,	Light green colour fruit (15.5 cm long, 0.26 kg fruit weight, average yield 73.2 t/ha). Suitable for open and rain shelter cultivation
Hybrid : DARL 101	DIBER, Pithoragarh	Specially suited to micro climatic conditions of hilly region. Field tolerant to powdery mildew • Suitable for Uttarakhand
Hybrid: DARL 102	DIBER, Pithoragarh	Excellent for hills in open and protected conditions. Field tolerant to powdery mildew and fruit fly.• Suitable for Uttarakhand

Some other varieties are Japanese Long green, Straight, Poinsette, and Balam Khira. Khira Poona Krishnanagar Selection, Chiana, Priya, Khirpati, Chaitali, F1-hybrid, etc.

Sowing of Seeds of Cucumber Crop;

(a) Sowing time. The cucumber is cultivated both as a summer and rainy season crop and the seed is sown according to the type of crop.
Summer crop:January to February.

Rainy season crop: June-July.

The seed of cucumber is sown in April in the hills.
(b) Seed rate. The seed rate is one kg per acre.
(c) Method of sowing. The seed is sown by a dibbling method at a distance of 1.5 to 2.5 meters (row to row) x 60 to 90 cm (plant to plant). Two to three seeds are sown in each pit.

Manuring in Cucumber ;
Cucumbers required about 24 kg of nitrogen, 12 kg of phosphoric acid, and 12 kg of potassium per acre. The recommended application of 400 kg of N.P. & K Mixture (5:10:10) over a basal application of 4 to 6 tons of F.Y.M. or compost per acre.

Intercultural operations in Cucumber;

Shallow cultivation should be given during the early stages of growth to control the weeds. Herbicides (such as Glycophosphate, Paraquat, and Chloramben @ 800 gm per acre) may be used to control weeds.

Irrigation in Cucumber Crop;
The summer crop is cultivated as an irrigated crop and requires enough! soil moisture during its growth and development. So irrigation should be given as and when needed. No irrigation is given in the rainy season crops.

Harvesting of Cucumber Crop;
The full-grown, tender fruits should be harvested at intervals of two to four days. Timely picking is more important regarding quality.

Yield of Cucumber;
The average yield is about 3500 to 4,000 kg per acre.

Read Further;

Cultivation of Ridge Gourd ( Ripped Gourd) in India