The botanical name of cucumber is Cucumis sativus. Cucumbers are originated in India. It is a climbing plant which is used as summer vegetable throughout in India. The cucumber fruit is eaten raw or is served as a salad or cooked as a vegetable. The seeds of cucumber are used for oil extraction which is good for body and brain. Cucumbers contain 96% water which is good in summer season. The plants are large sized, leaves are hairy and are triangular in shape and flowers are yellow in color. Cucumber is an excellent source of Mb (Molybdenum) and Vitamin K. Cucumber is used to cure skin problems, kidney and heart problems and is used as alkalizer.

It can be sown in variety of soils ranging from sandy loam to heavy soil. But a loamy soil which is rich in organic matter and has well drainage system is best for the cucumber farming. The pH ranging from 6-7 is suited best for cucumber farming.

Punjab Kheera - 1 (2018): It is only recommended for poly-net houses. The plant is vigorous, producing 1-2 fruits per node. Flowers are parthenocarpic, and the fruits are dark green, seedless, bitter-free, medium in size (125 g), 13-15 cm long, and do not need to be peeled. The first fruit can be picked 45 and 60 days after sowing for September and January crops, respectively. Its average yield is 304 q/acre for September sown crop and 370 q/acre for January sown crop, respectively.

Punjab Naveen (2008): The plants have dark green leaves as having a rough surface. At edible maturity, the fruits are cylinderical with a smooth surface, light green in colour, bitter free, and very crispy, with a single seed. It is of higher quality due to its high dry matter and vitamin C content. From planting to harvesting, it takes 68 days.Taste, appearance, colour, size, and texture are all excellent. It has an average yield of 70 q/acre.

Other state varieties

Pusa Uday: The Indian Agricultural Research Institute created the variety (IARI). This varietys fruits are light green in colour, medium in size, and 15cm long. Per acre of land, use 1.45 kg of seed. The variety matures in 50-55 days. It has a yield of 65 qtl/acre on average.

Pusa Barkha: This variety was created for the Kharif season. It is extremely resistant to humidity, temperature, and downy mildew disease. It has a yield of 78 qtl/acre on average.

 For cucumber plantation, it requires well prepared and weed free field. To bring soil to fine tilth, 3-4 ploughings must be done before planting. FYM such as cow dung is mixed with soil to enrich the field. Then nursery beds are prepared having width of 2.5m and at the distance of 60cm.

Time of sowing:

Seed rate:

 Fertilizer Requirement (kg/acre):

Nutrient Value (kg/acre):

At the time of land preparation apply fertilizer dose of Nitrogen @40kg (Urea@90kg), phosphorus @20kg (Single phosphate @125kg) and potassium@20kg (Muriate of potash@35kg) as a basal dose. At the time of sowing, apply one third of the Nitrogen dose along with Potassium and Single superphosphate. At the early stage of veins production i.e. one month of sowing apply rest of the dose.

Weed can be controlled by hand-hoeing and also controlled by chemically, use glyphosate@1.6litre per 150 litre of water. Use glyphosate only on weeds not on crop plants.

In summer season it requires frequent irrigation and in rainy season it does not require any irrigation. In total it requires 10-12 irrigations. Pre-irrigation is required before sowing then subsequent irrigation is required after 2-3 days of sowing. After second sowing, the crops are then irrigated at the interval of 4-5 days. Drip irrigation is very useful for this crop.

• Disease and their control:
  

Anthracnose: It attacks almost all parts of the cucumber which are above the ground. The symptoms are yellowish color circular spots are seen on the older leaves and the circular and sunken spots are seen on the fruit.
Treatment: Fungicidal application of Chlorothalonil and benomyl is given to protect the crop from disease.

Bacterial wilt: It is caused by Erwinia tracheiphila. It affects the vascular tissues of the plant which result in immediate wilting.
Treatment: Spraying of foliar insecticides is done to cure the bacterial wilt.
 

Powdery mildew: The symptoms are appearance of white powdery spots on upper surface of leaves which causes leaf withering.
Treatment: Application of carbendazim@2gm in 1ltr of water will help to cure powdery mildew. It can also be controlled by fungicidal sprays of Chlorothalonil, benomyl or dinocap.

Mosaic: The symptoms are stunted growth of plant, leaves turn down and fruit knobs become light yellow in color.
Treatment: Application of Diazinon is done to cure mosaic disease. Use of Immidachloprid-17.8%SL @7ml in 10ltr of water is done to cure disease.
 

• Pest and their control:

Fruit fly: It is serious pest found in cucumber. Females fly lay eggs below epidermis of young fruits. Later on maggots feed on pulp afterward fruits starts rotting and get drop.
Treatment: Foliar application of Neem oil @3.0%is given to cure the crop from fruit fly pest.

 

Plants start yielding in about 45-50 days after sowing. Mainly 10-12 harvestings can be done. Harvesting is mainly done when the seed of cucumber are soft and the fruits are green and young. Harvesting is done with the help of sharp knife or any sharp object. It gives an average of 33-42qtl/acre of yield.

Brown color fruits are best for seed production. For seed extraction, fruit pulp is taken out in fresh water for 1-2 days for the easy separation of seeds. The seeds are then rubbed with hands and as a result heavy seeds will settle down in water and then they are preserved for further use.