How to grow cucumbers to achieve high yield?

Cucumber has a cultivation history of more than two thousand years. It is rich in various nutrients, such as protein, vitamins and minerals, and is widely grown throughout my country. However, many growers encounter problems such as slow seedling emergence, severe flower and fruit drop, and low yield during the planting process, which affects the planting benefits. So, how can we grow cucumbers to achieve high yields?

1. Determine the appropriate sowing time

Cucumbers like warmth and avoid cold. The minimum temperature for seed germination is 12℃, and the optimal growth temperature is 20-28℃. When the temperature is lower than 15℃ or higher than 32℃, flowers and fruits are likely to fall off; when it is lower than 10℃, the plant will stop growing. Cucumbers can be grown in greenhouses or in the open air. When planting outdoors, sowing can be done when the average daily temperature is stable above 15℃. During the Grain Rain season, the average daily temperature in most parts of my country exceeds 15℃, which is suitable for open-air sowing. Usually mid-to-late April is the best sowing period. You can also build a small shed to grow seedlings in advance.

2. Cultivate strong seedlings

Cucumbers can be sown directly or transplanted from seedlings. Seedling transplanting is beneficial to the cultivation of strong seedlings and is crucial for high yields. The key to cultivating strong seedlings is to prepare nutritious soil. You can use 6 parts of fertile garden soil and 4 parts of decomposed farmyard manure, add appropriate amount of compound fertilizer , mix well and use for sowing. After sowing, cover with 1 to 3 cm of soil and water thoroughly. Cover with straw to keep warm when temperatures are low, and remove after seedlings emerge. To speed up germination, germination treatment should be carried out before sowing. The seeds should be soaked in warm water for 3 to 5 hours, then wrapped with wet gauze and placed in an environment of 25 to 30℃ for germination. After 2 days, when 70% of the seeds turn white, they can be sown. When planting on a large scale, soak the seeds in 1% copper sulfate or 100 times formalin solution for 10 minutes to kill the bacteria and reduce diseases.

3. Avoid field closure

When transplanting seedlings, they can be planted when they have 4 to 5 leaves. Cucumbers like moisture and are afraid of waterlogging. They should be planted in soil with a deep soil layer, rich organic matter, and convenient drainage and irrigation. In combination with land preparation, apply 1,000 kg of farmyard manure and 30 kg of compound fertilizer per mu as base fertilizer. Make ridges 1.2 meters wide and more than 15 centimeters high. Plant two rows in each ridge, with a row spacing of 80 centimeters and a plant spacing of 40 centimeters. Plant 2 plants in each hole. Over-dense planting will lead to flower and fruit drop and high incidence of diseases and insect pests, reducing yield and quality. When cultivating in greenhouses, DDT and sulfur fumigation can be used to kill pathogens and reduce the risk of disease.

4. Regular fertilization

Cucumbers require less fertilizer during the seedling stage, but more fertilizer during the flowering and fruiting stage. Fertilization should follow the principle of "light fertilization in the seedling stage and heavy fertilization in the flowering and fruiting stage" to meet the nutrient needs of stem and leaf development and flowering and fruiting. During the seedling stage, 1,000 kg of diluted manure or 10 kg of urea can be applied per mu to promote seedling growth. After flowering and fruiting, apply 20 kg of compound fertilizer per mu. During the peak period of flowering and fruiting, you can spray 0.3% potassium dihydrogen phosphate foliar fertilizer once every 7 to 10 days for 2 to 3 times in a row to prevent premature aging and increase yield.

5. Management before and after melon setting

Cucumbers like moisture, but watering should follow the principle of "control water before the cucumbers set, and water frequently with small amounts of water after the cucumbers set." There should not be too much water during the seedling stage to promote root development. The plant requires a lot of water during the flowering and fruiting period, so sufficient water should be supplied and watered every 5 days.

6. Pruning and Pinching

When the cucumbers are 30 cm tall, you can build a trellis to guide the vines, in a counterclockwise direction, with a height of more than 2 meters. During the growing season, the branches need to be pruned and the tips need to be removed to remove side branches that do not produce fruits. When the main vine and the side vines that produce fruits are more than 2 meters long, the tips need to be pinched to inhibit vegetative growth, promote reproductive growth, and facilitate more flowering and fruit production. Remove old leaves, diseased leaves and diseased fruits at the bottom in time to reduce nutrient waste and improve ventilation and light transmission.

In general, cucumbers are rich in nutrients and popular in the market. Note that cucumbers are susceptible to diseases and pests during the growing period, and spraying chemical pesticides may result in pesticide residues . To eliminate residues, soak cucumbers in salt water or baking soda water for 10 minutes, then wash them with clean water and eat them to reduce pesticide residues.