What to Do When Cucumbers Stop Fruiting? Here Are the Latest Control Methods
Cucumbers stopping fruiting is a very common occurrence. Many growers, in order to increase cucumber yields, do not control the number of cucumbers left on the plants. This prevents the plants' nutrients from being supplied evenly and normally, hindering cucumber growth and causing weakened vigor, yellow leaves, deformed cucumbers and various other problems that affect yield and quality. If not managed in time, it can even lead to total crop loss. So what should you do if cucumbers stop fruiting? Let's take a look below!
1. Light management
Light is relatively important for cucumber growth. Sufficient light can enhance cucumber photosynthesis and increase the plants' nutrient accumulation. Even during continuous rainy weather, the covers should still be opened for a period of time. Many people think that opening them without sun is useless and will also lower the temperature, causing discomfort for cucumber growth. But this is wrong. On rainy days, cucumbers can still carry out photosynthesis after the covers are opened, because scattered light exists in the sky. It can also appropriately raise the temperature for the plants.
2. Plant adjustment
You should all be fairly familiar with lowering cucumber vines. When lowering cucumber vines, be careful not to lower them too much, as lowering them too much affects nutrient absorption and is unfavorable for plant growth. After successfully lowering the vines, keep the plants at about 1.4-1.6 m, and the leaves on the plants must not be fewer than 15, so as to enhance photosynthesis and promote plant growth. Timely fruit thinning is key. The reason many cucumbers stop fruiting is that the number of cucumbers has exceeded the plant's load capacity. Keep the cucumbers on the plants within the range the plants can bear, and harvest them in time to provide enough nutrients and growing space for new cucumbers. Leaves that are aged and yellow on the plants should also be removed in time to reduce unnecessary nutrient supply.
3. Fertilizer and water management
When encountering low-temperature and weak-light weather, the frequency of watering should be reduced. Especially in winter, the watering frequency should be kept to about once every 3 weeks, and when watering, use a small amount of water to prevent cold damage to cucumbers. After watering, do not ventilate immediately. Wait until the greenhouse temperature rises to about 28-32°C before ventilating. When ventilating, pay attention to the vents. Do not open all the vents at once. Open them slowly so the cucumbers can adapt. When fertilizing, mainly mix fertilizer with water and apply it as a flush. When fertilizing, be careful not to apply fertilizer in a one-sided or excessive way.
4. Disease control
Disease is also one of the main reasons cucumbers stop fruiting, such as brown spot disease and downy mildew. These are all diseases that frequently occur in cucumbers. We should follow the principle of giving priority to prevention and supplementing it with control, inspect the cucumber shed regularly, observe the condition of the plants, and ensure there are no diseased plants in the greenhouse and no signs of disease. If found, promptly pull out the diseased plants and take them out of the cucumber shed. Spray the greenhouse with chemicals for control, and ventilate promptly after spraying; otherwise, pesticide damage may occur. When using chemicals, control the concentration well, as too high a concentration can also have a certain inhibitory effect on cucumbers.
The above are solutions for cucumbers stopping fruiting. In fact, we also need to do a good job of prevention in our daily work. Once cucumbers stop fruiting, it cannot be treated, and the diseased plants can only be pulled out. That is why we need to do all this prevention work well, and disease control work should also be given special attention, because if it is not managed well, not only will disease occur and cause fruiting to stop, but pesticide damage and other problems even more harmful to plant growth may also appear. This article is for reference only. Thank you for reading and supporting us.