Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
GROWING FOR SEED
Leave the first one or two cucumbers on the plant until seeds are ripe. Do not
leave cucumbers on the main vine to go to seed, as this will reduce overall yield, especially for English
cucumbers. One cucumber can yield 100 to 500 ripe seeds. Seeds do not ripen until the cucumber fruit
has gone far beyond eating ripeness; the rind is hard and usually yellow-orange, though sometimes
brown. White-rinded cucumbers turn more of a light yellow color when seeds are ripe. Remove fruits
at this point and store them on a dry surface protected from the weather. The riper the fruits, the higher
the quality of the seed. The flesh of non-rotting fruits, if there are any, can be used to make pickles.
Different cucumber varieties vary in their propensity to climb; enthusiastic climbers can be given a
trellis of some sort to climb up. Allowing cucumbers to climb can result in sun-burned fruits in hot re-
gions, but this method also helps reduce the risk of fungal infections, especially in wetter regions.
Those that tend not to climb can be grown on the ground; landscaping fabric can be laid between rows
to help prevent rotting fruits.
HARVEST
Cut fruits with ripe seed in half the long way and scrape out seeds with a spoon or finger.
The seeds are surrounded with a gelatinous substance that helps prevent seeds from germinating in the
moist environment of the fruit upon ripening. This layer can be dissolved by fermenting the seeds (for
particulars, see “Wet Processing with Fermentation”). Add water to the mass of seed and pulp. The fer-
mentation process is complete when the gelatinous layer has dissolved, usually after 24 hours, at
which point the seeds should quickly be washed and dried. Nonviable seed usually floats at the top,
heavy viable seed sinks to the bottom. Nonviable seed can also be winnowed with the wind, once all
seeds are dried.
SELECTION CHARACTERISTICS
• earliness and/or long harvesting period
• disease resistance (especially against powdery mildew when growing outdoors)
• fruits free of bitter compounds
• number of fruits per plant
• portion of fruit that is fleshy and not part of the seed-bearing core (cross-section)
• prickly/smooth rind
• shape of neck
• overall shape (snake-like, horn-like, etc.), size, color
• drought tolerance
DISEASES AND PESTS
A frequent disease pathogen is the cucumber mosaic virus, which may affect
yield. The virus causes a light and dark green checkered pattern on leaves, especially young ones. It
can also infect fruits, causing light spots to appear on their surface. It has yet to be determined if the
virus is seed-borne. Another mosaic virus affecting cucumbers is the zucchini yellow mosaic virus,
which can cause extensive crop damage. Well-defined, dark green blisters on leaves and fruits are the
classic symptoms, with fruits completely withering away in extreme cases. It is almost always spread
by aphids, though about 1% of the time it is spread by seed. Remove plants suspected to be infected,
and do not grow cucurbits in that bed the following year. Fusarium stem rot, caused by
Fusarium so-
lani
, is a seed-borne disease that mainly occurs in greenhouses and not in outdoor gardens. Afflicted
plants suddenly wilt and die. Fusarium fungi can live in the soil for years, so wait four or five years be-
