What to Do About Hollow Cucumbers? A Detailed Guide to the Latest Prevention and Control Methods

Cucumber is a vegetable that everyone loves in summer, and it is sometimes eaten as a fruit. Cucumber has a mild flavor, can clear heat and detoxify, and is a vegetable in high demand. Generally, people grow some cucumbers at home to eat, but some friends have found that the cucumbers they grow themselves are hollow inside. The taste is not good. In fact, there are reasons for this, and the reasons lie in problems that occur during the growing process. So now let us explore the reasons together!

1. Malnutrition

Poor soil, or nutrients in the soil having been absorbed without timely fertilization to supplement nutrition. It is best to choose fertile soil for planting. For poor soil, use leaf mold with high humus content to improve the soil. During the early growth period, apply sufficient base fertilizer to ensure plant growth. Before the flowering period, apply additional fertilizer. During the fruiting period, apply additional fertilizer multiple times. When applying additional fertilizer, fertilize each plant separately so it can be fully absorbed.

2. Nutrient Deficiency

During the flowering period, cucumbers need boron. If the soil is deficient, spray 0.2% borax on the leaves to increase the boron the plants need, ensuring good flowering and complete floral organs, without deformed flowers or incomplete flowers. In this way, when the flowers develop into fruit, they will not be deformed or affected.

3. Temperature

High temperatures at night will cause the plants to grow excessively, and nutrients cannot be supplied to the fruit, so the fruit will become hollow. Therefore, it is best to control the temperature in the early stage and sow a little earlier as appropriate. For protected cultivation, pay attention to ventilation. Water in the evening to lower the temperature, ventilate more, and spray water to cool down. Use shade nets to reduce light.

4. Water

Waterlogging, drought, or excessively high soil temperature causing root damage will affect water absorption. If water cannot be absorbed, there will be a water shortage. When there is a water shortage, cell growth will stop, which may cause the inside of the cucumber to become hollow. Therefore, water regularly to prevent drought. After rain, promptly clear the pipes to drain water. When the ground temperature is high, remove the plastic film to let air in.

5. Poor Fertilization

Low or high temperatures during the flowering period, or too much rain, cause pollen to die, be lost, or stick together, making pollination impossible or ineffective. Fertilization cannot occur, the amount of fertilization is low, and poor fertilization forms deformed fruit that is hollow inside and poorly developed. Therefore, it is necessary to collect pollen on sunny days and carry out artificial pollination and fertilization before rain, which can ensure the completeness of fertilization.

Hollow cucumbers are mainly affected by growth nutrition and various environmental factors, and additionally by poor pollination and fertilization, causing poor growth and development. Regulate the balance between vegetative growth and reproductive growth, and then ensure that reproductive growth proceeds.