Cucumber Cucumis sativus

1
Cucumber (Cucumis sativus)

• Key concepts
• Center of origin
• Monoecious
• Gynoecious
• Parthenocarpic
• Slicing versus pickling cucumbers
• Quality characteristics
• Problems

2
Originated in Africa or Asia

• Why the uncertainty?
• Ancient trade routes connected and India
• A network of sea routes linked the incense ports
  in Saudi Arabia and
• with ports in the Persian Gulf and India
• Goods freely flowed along these routes

3
Cucumber center of origin

• What is a center of origin?
• Where the crop species or its grow in the wild
• Two processes
• Utilization as a food
• Ability to grow as a crop
• Some crops spread rapidly from center of origin
  others spread is slower
• Cucumber rapid spread
• - slow spread

4
Separate male and female flowers

• Separate male and female flowers
• _____________
• Require bee pollination
• Will produce _______ flowers first
• Produce 10-20 times more flowers
• Release pollen and fall off

5
Gynoecious cultivars

• Have all ______ flowers
• Why use a gynoecious cultivar?
• Energy not used to produce _______ flowers
• Can produce more fruit
• Usually a small amount of seed from a _______
  cultivar is mixed in as the pollinator

6
Parthenocarpic cucumbers

• Produce fruit without _________
• Often used in greenhouse production
• Why?
• Differences from field grown cucumbers
• Longer and thinner
• Plants are grown upright
• __________
• Flavor is better?
• Is it worth the additional cost?

7
Cucumber Slicing

• Used fresh without addition _________
• Look for
• Dark, smooth skin
• Small diameter

8
Burpless cucumber

• These are mild in ______ and thin-skinned
• Some people get stomach problems when they eat
  cucumber skin
• Probably dont stop burping and name comes from
  ______ Seed Company

9
Cucumber - Pickling

• Pickling
• Used for making ________ and sometimes fresh
• Types of pickles depend on
• Preparation (i.e. dills)
• Size

10
West Indies Gerkin or bur cucumber

• Derived from an African species
• Brought to Americas directly from ________
• Extensively grown in ______ _______
• Almost ______ fruit used for pickles
• Gerkin also used to describe small pickles

11
Slicing Cucumbers vs. Pickling
12
Cucumbers Harvesting

• Pick before the _______ start to mature
• Fruit that contains immature _________ is
  preferred
• Do not allow cucumbers to turn yellow
• Yellow fruit are overly mature
• Often have a _________ taste

13
Cucumbers Problems

• Cucumber beetle
• Must be controlled because they transmit
  _________ _________
• Control
• Synthetic insecticides
• Exclusion with row _________
• Poor fruit quality
• Incomplete __________
• Drought during pollination and fruit development