The cultivation of cucumbers began about six thousand years ago. The homeland of this vegetable is tropical and subtropical forests of China and India. Currently, it is grown in all countries of the world, even in the far north. It is not known exactly where the cucumber was brought from to Russia, but it has been grown in our country since at least the 16th century. Cucumber has so firmly entered our diet that it is already hard to imagine both a casual and a festive table without this tasty and healthy product. Cucumbers are eaten raw, added to salads, salted, pickled, canned, there is even a recipe for cucumber jam.
About 90 thousand hectares are occupied under the cucumber in the Russian Federation. The largest distribution area is the Central, Southern and Volga districts. Depending on the climate, the vegetable is grown in greenhouses or on the open ground. 92 percent of the total area occupied by cucumbers is households, 4.5% are agricultural organizations, 3% are peasant and farm greenhouses, and 0.5% are small enterprises.
The greatest yield comes from growing cucumbers in a greenhouse. This not only allows you to comply with all microclimatic conditions, but also ensures year-round production. The profitability of greenhouse cultivation can be up to 500 percent, while the winter harvest brings about two times more income than spring or summer.
One of the options for greenhouse cultivation of cucumbers is growing on coconut mats, briquettes, into which a nutrient solution is supplied; they develop the root system of the vegetable. Coconut mats are laid on polystyrene plates in such a way as to allow free flow of excess nutrient solution. In the film in which the mat is located, holes for plants and drainage holes are made. The irrigation system is automatic. A microdropper is built in to each plant to supply moisture, so that the mat is saturated with moisture evenly even with a drainage system. In addition, a fogging system (cooling, humidification), top foggers, a fertilizer pumping system, water tanks, an irrigation control controller, as well as lighting and a heating system are installed. The cost of installing one greenhouse with an area of 350 square meters. meters will be about 900 thousand rubles.
For the successful cultivation of cucumbers, it is necessary, first of all, to choose the right seeds. For greenhouse cultivation, you can use several dozen cucumber varieties and a large number of hybrids. F1 hybrids have proven themselves best, so they give a good harvest and do not require pruning. For example, the late-ripening hybrid Hercules F1, which begins to bear fruit 62 days after emergence. He needs artificial pollination, as well as the mid-season hybrid Annushka F1, which is valued for its resistance to disease and stable productivity. The Emelya F1 hybrid matures very quickly, in just 39-43 days. Its bush has an unlimited number of lashes and does not need pollination, and the fruits reach 150g. Also does not require pollination hybrid Dynamite F1.
The cost of one thousand cucumber seeds is an average of 1500-1600 rubles.
They practice seedling and seedling cultivation of cucumbers. It is believed that with the seedling method, plant development is faster. However, seedlings have opponents who note a painful reaction of the cucumber to the transplant due to the fact that the plant has a delicate root system and takes root during the transplant for a long time. When seedling is grown, the cucumber is planted under the film.
Before planting, seeds must be poured with a potassium permanganate solution (1 g per 100 ml) for disinfection, and then washed with water. Rinsing with salt water also helps remove substandard seeds that float to the surface.
The nutrient mixture for seeds consists of peat, humus, sawdust and sod land in a ratio of 1: 1: 1: 1. Shoots appear on 3-4 days. Seedlings can be planted on 20-25 days. After the emergence of seedlings, it is necessary to maintain the daytime temperature of about 17 degrees, the night temperature of about14, provide additional lighting on cloudy days, water the seedlings with warm water, and feed. If 2-3 dark green leaves appear on the bushes, the seedlings are ready for planting.
There are vertical and horizontal methods for growing cucumbers. With a vertical method, plants are woven along special supports, with a horizontal method, along the ground. In industrial greenhouse cultivation, the vertical method is used, since it facilitates the care of the plant, contributes to the formation of the right bush. The plant standing density during vertical cultivation is 20-25 thousand plants per hectare.
The daylight hours of cucumbers should be 10-12 hours. During the growth period, the temperature should not fall below 18 degrees. The temperature of the soil should be the same at different levels, otherwise it will adversely affect the development of the vegetable.
The yield of cucumber when grown indoors is approximately 3-3.5 tons per hectare.
It is also possible to grow cucumber on the open ground as a row crop. The yield will be lower, but much lower than the investment, therefore, if not enough funds for equipping the greenhouses, you can consider open cultivation.
The best predecessors of cucumbers are corn, tomato, peas, onions and early potatoes. Growing cucumbers after pumpkin, zucchini and squash is highly not recommended. For growing cucumbers, all types of soils with sufficient aeration and drainage are suitable, although light, rich in humus soils should be preferred.
In autumn, soil is harrowed to grind the remnants of the precursors. Cucumber feels comfortable on the strata of perennial grasses, wheat, silage corn, etc. When plowing is mandatory, mineral fertilizers are applied to the soil.
Seeds are prepared for sowing: they are soaked in a salt solution, washed and heat treated, keeping for about six hours at a temperature of 55 degrees, then etched with apron.
When the soil warms up to 8-12 degrees at a depth of 8 cm, sowing can be carried out. Plants with long growth are sown in an amount up to 70 thousand pieces per 1 ha, plants with short growth - up to 150 thousand. The use of precision seed drills optimizes seed consumption. If a conventional seeder is used, thinning is performed after the appearance of the first true leaf. The seeding rate with a conventional seeder is 9 kg / ha, and the precision seeder is 6 kg / ha.
A week after sowing, harrowing is done using a sowing or mesh harrow. Aisles should be loosened by a cultivator to a depth of 7-8 centimeters each time after irrigation.
Cucumbers should be protected from weeds and diseases. For this, herbicides and fungicides are used. The first fungicide treatment is carried out during the appearance of two sheets of cucumber, the subsequent ones with a two-week interval.
Watering volume is about 300 cubic meters. meters per hectare, watering is performed at least five times, since cucumber required high soil moisture.
Harvesting is done at two-day intervals. You can use both manual cleaning and platforms POU-2, UPNS-10, PNSSh-12, wide-lift conveyor TNA-40, which can reduce costs.
According to the requirements of GOST, it is necessary to collect vegetables for fresh consumption until short-fruited varieties are 14 cm in size, medium and long-fruited - 25 cm; diameter not more than 5.5 cm. Pickled pickles are 3-5 cm long, gherkins 5-9 cm long, greenbacks up to 11 cm long.
The yield of cucumber in the open field is about 15-20 tons per hectare. Store fruits at a temperature of 12-15 degrees. Vegetables should be delivered to the consumer within a few days after harvest.
You can sell cucumbers in bulk at agricultural exchanges, the cost depends on the season and variety. The preferred sales option is contracts with vegetable shops and food production.
Growing cucumber seeds
When growing cucumber for seeds, crop isolation of at least 800 meters in open areas is observed. Sowing is carried out at an earlier date than at production crops, and at a higher density.
In addition, regular varietal cleanings are necessary to remove weak plants and plants with deviations. If hybrid varieties are grown, then sowing is performed with alternating rows of the paternal and maternal forms. To improve pollination of plants, it is possible to place bee colonies, about 5-6 per hectare.
The fruits of the testes are harvested 50-55 days after the start of mass flowering. Cucumber seeds are extracted using an IBK-5 chopper-separator. A used car can be purchased for 110-150 thousand rubles. This device allocates seeds of watermelon, cucumber, zucchini, pumpkin.
Then the seeds are washed, dried first in the open air, and then in the dryers. Preliminary cleaning is carried out on BC-2 and No. 5 winding sorters, final cleaning is performed on Petkus-Super K-212. Screening equipment costs about 500 thousand rubles, and Petkus grain cleaning machines can be purchased for 100 thousand rubles.
Harvest seeds from 1 ha - 8 centners. Seeds retain high sowing and yield qualities for 5-8 years, subject to storage conditions: humidity 30-45%, temperature 15-20 degrees.
The cost of a kilogram of seeds at retail is 17500-18000 rubles. Having realized the crop from one centner, you can get 14.4 million rubles.