Tutorial on High-Quality, High-Yield Cucumber Cultivation Techniques, with a Detailed Explanation of the Latest Growing Methods
In recent years, along with the continuous advancement of cultivation techniques, people's demand for agricultural products has also been growing. Traditional agricultural product cultivation techniques can no longer meet people's needs. Cucumber, as a traditional vegetable variety, with its bright color, crisp and delicious taste, and diverse ways of eating, occupies an extremely high position among vegetable products in our country, and is a fine product suitable for all ages. The following will introduce the techniques for high-quality, high-yield cucumber cultivation, from the initial land preparation to the final harvest.
1. Land preparation
Cucumber cultivation requires selecting loose, fertile soil rich in organic matter, with strong water and fertilizer retention capacity, and weakly acidic to neutral sandy loam, with the most suitable pH value being 5.7-7.2. When the pH value is below 5.5, the plants will develop various physiological disorders and turn yellow and die; when the pH value is above 7.2, root burn and seedling death are likely to occur, along with salt damage.
2. Seed selection
Select varieties with disease resistance, strong stress resistance, good marketability, and high yield, such as Jinyou No. 10 and Bonai No. 3.
3. Seed soaking
Place the seeds in warm water at 55°C and soak them for 10-15 minutes, stirring constantly until the water temperature drops to 30°C, then soak for another 3-4 hours. After that, rub and wash the seeds repeatedly, rinse them clean with clear water to remove the mucus, dry them and promote germination. This can prevent diseases such as black spot and anthracnose. Wrap the soaked seeds in a clean wet cloth and place them under conditions of 28°C-32°C to promote germination for 1-2 days. When 70% of the seeds have sprouted, they can be sown.
4. Seedbed preparation
Select garden soil or field soil that has not grown cucurbit vegetables for 3-5 years and mix it thoroughly with high-quality decomposed organic fertilizer at a ratio of 3:1, adding 2 kg of three-element compound fertilizer per cubic meter. Mix 50% carbendazim wettable powder and 50% thiram wettable powder at a ratio of 1:1, and mix 8-10 grams of the pesticide with 15-30 grams of fine soil; use 2/3 for spreading the bed and 1/3 for covering after sowing.
5. Sowing and seedling raising
The sowing period of spring cucumber is determined according to the planting period. The suitable calendar seedling age at planting is 40-50 days, and the physiological seedling age is four leaves and one heart. If calculated by calendar seedling age, sowing is carried out 40-50 days before planting. The length of physiological seedling age is related to the seedling raising method: when using a sunny seedbed or solar greenhouse for seedling raising, it is 50-55 days; when using a heated greenhouse for seedling raising, it is 45-50 days; when using an electric heating wire greenhouse for seedling raising, it is 45 days. Therefore, different seedling raising methods also mean different sowing times. Practice has proved that rapid seedling raising not only saves time, but also produces fast and robust seedlings and high early yield. Where conditions permit, rapid seedling raising should be adopted as much as possible.
6. Seedling stage management
1. Temperature management. From sowing to emergence, the daytime temperature should be controlled at 28°C-32°C and the nighttime temperature at 10°C-18°C; from emergence to heart breaking, the daytime temperature should be controlled at 25°C-30°C and the nighttime temperature at 16°C-18°C; from heart breaking to planting, the daytime temperature should be controlled at 20°C-25°C and the nighttime temperature at 12°C-16°C.
2. Water management. During the seedling stage, water should be properly controlled, alternating between dry and wet, and watering should be thorough.
3. Hardening off. 7-10 days before planting, water should be controlled and ventilation increased for low-temperature hardening off. The daytime temperature should be 18°C-20°C and the nighttime temperature 8°C-10°C. When the seedlings reach a plant height of 15 cm, with 3 leaves and 1 heart, and a seedling age of about 35 days, they can be planted.
7. Watering and intertillage loosening of the soil
4-5 days after planting, when the heart leaves begin to grow. When a large number of new roots grow underground, water once to help the seedlings recover. After watering, do not water again until the root cucumber sets, and carry out intertillage loosening of the soil. The first intertillage should be deep, thorough, and fine, about 7 cm deep, and the soil around the seedlings should also be hoed through, but the roots must not be damaged. The purpose of intertillage is to loosen the soil, raise the ground temperature, and promote root growth. Control stem and leaf growth and restrain seedling growth. When the first cucumber of most plants (called the root cucumber) has set (when the cucumber grows to about 12 cm and is not easy to abort, it is called setting), stop restraining seedling growth and begin to water for the first time, and this watering should be appropriately larger. When the soil surface is no longer sticky, carry out the second intertillage, which should be shallow hoeing, and remove weeds along with the intertillage. After the first watering, water shortage should no longer be allowed, and subsequent watering should depend on the weather. Look at the vines and handle it flexibly. During the root cucumber harvest period, the weather is not yet too hot, evaporation is relatively small. The vines are also not too tall, so watering should not be too frequent and the amount should not be too large, generally watering once every 6-7 days. From harvesting the middle cucumbers to harvesting the top cucumbers is the full fruiting period, when the temperature is already high, evaporation is large, stems and leaves are lush, and growth is vigorous. With many cucumbers set, this is the period when cucumbers need the most water in their entire life, generally watering once every 3-4 days, and the amount should not be too large. It is advocated to water frequently but lightly, and never flood irrigate. After harvesting the top cucumbers, the vines gradually age, stem and leaf growth has decreased, and it is also the rainy season, so the number of waterings should be controlled. When it does not rain, water once every 5-6 days, so that the soil surface remains not dry. As for watering time, in the early fruiting stage it is best to water in the morning, while in the peak and late cucumber harvest periods, watering in the evening can lower the ground temperature. Cucumbers are afraid of waterlogging, so after rain, attention should be paid to drainage to avoid water accumulation in the beds.
8. Trellising and vine tying
To prevent the wind from whipping the seedlings, try to set up the trellis on the same day as planting. Cucumbers mostly use a herringbone trellis; insert one bamboo pole per seedling on the outer side of the seedling. Tie the upper ends of the bamboo poles of two rows together. When the vines grow too tall to stand upright, they should be tied to the trellis in time, and thereafter tied once every 3-4 leaves. The tying string should form a figure "8" with the trellis pole and the vine, which can prevent the vine from rubbing against the trellis pole or sliding down. Do not tie too tightly; the gap should be enough to insert an index finger. Each time you tie the vines, fix the top of the vine at the same height for easy management. It is best to tie the vines in the afternoon, as this makes it less likely to break the vines and leaves.
9. Pest and disease control
Common cucumber diseases include Fusarium wilt, downy mildew, and powdery mildew, and the main pests include melon aphids and pill bugs. According to the development trend of cucumber pests and diseases in recent years, comprehensive control must be carried out, implementing rational crop rotation and strengthening field management, and spraying pesticides or removing diseased seedlings promptly at the early stage of disease onset. For Fusarium wilt control, use 70% dexon at 1000-1500 times dilution or 50% carbendazim at 500 times dilution to drench the roots; for downy mildew, use 64% oxadixyl at 400 times dilution, or 70% mancozeb at 500 times dilution, or 77% kocide at 500-800 times dilution for spray control; for powdery mildew, use 25% triadimefon at 2500 times dilution, or 25% flusilazole at 2000-3000 times dilution, or 30% triflumizole at 2000 times dilution for spray control. For melon aphids, use Kulong emulsifiable concentrate at 800-1200 times dilution, or 2.5% Uranus or derris emulsion at 3000 times dilution for spraying and killing; for pill bugs, use 25% deltamethrin or 20% fenvalerate at 50-100 grams per mu mixed with 10-20 kg of fine soil and scatter it on the bed surface for poisoning, or use 50% dichlorvos at 500 times dilution for spraying and killing.
10. Harvest
Generally, cucumber harvesting begins about 25-30 days after planting, and the harvest period is about 40-60 days. The general yield per mu is 3500-4500 kg. Harvest at the right time, when the top of the cucumber fruit changes from pointed to round. At this time the cucumber has fully grown but is not old, which is the suitable harvest period.
Finally, one more point: cucumber is a vegetable harvested multiple times. During the flowering period, a little sugar water can be applied to the petals and leaves to help attract bees for pollination and increase yield. The above is the complete experience for high-quality, high-yield cucumber cultivation, and I hope it can provide some reference and help for everyone.