Cucumber Cultivars and Cultural Practices for Patio Gardening

1. Abstract Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is one of the most popular vegetables grown in U.S. home gardens. The objectives of this study were to identify suitable cultivars and proper plant density for use with container-grown cucumber. Additional objectives were to determine the value of field trials for predicting cucumber performance in containers, and to evaluate different plant types (dwarf vs. tall, gynoecious vs. monoecious, pickling vs. slicing) for container use. Fourteen cultivars and breeding lines were tested at three densities in two seasons using a randomized complete block design with six replications. Pickling cucumbers were M 21, M 27, NC-74, 'NC-Danbury', 'NC-Dixon', 'Sumter', 'Vlaspik', and 'Picklebush'. Slicing cucumbers were 'Bush Whopper II', 'Spacemaster 80', 'Bush Champion', 'Marketmore 76', 'Dasher II', and 'Cherokee 7'. Plant densities were one, two, or three plants per container. For both the spring and summer container trials, there were corresponding field trials run at the same time for comparison. Best performance was obtained using three plants per container, or 4 L of soil volume per plant. There was a strong, significant correlation between patio and field trials, permitting gardeners to choose cucumber cultivars with high yield, high quality, and disease resistance using data from field trials. Pickling type cucumbers have thinner skin than slicing-type cucumbers that were bred for shipping. Gynoecious types must be planted with monoecious cultivars to assure fruit set. Monoecious types can self pollinate, and have the additional advantage of longer harvest period. Thus, home gardeners may want dwarf, monoecious, pickling types for best performance in containers. The best cultivar of that type was 'NC-Danbury'. Table 1. Recommended cucumber cultivars for patio production (number of recommendations based on literature recommendations). No. Cultivars being recommended 6 Spacemaster 4 Bush Champion, Salad Bush 3 Picklebush, Pot Luck, Salad Bush hybrid 2 Burpee Hybrid II, Bush Crop, Bush Pickle Hybrid, Fanfare 1 Burpee Hybrid, Burpee Pickler, Bush Whopper, Cornichon de Bourbonne, Marketmore, Patio Pik, Pickalot, Sweet Success, Victory Table 2. Fruit yield and vine data for 3 cultivars and 3 densities tested in patio containers. Plants Yield Early Marketable Vine len. Gynoecy PM DM Cultivar /pot g/pot g/pot % mm 1-9 0-9 0-9 Dasher II 1 1478 488 78 733 7.3 1.0 3.2 2 1695 503 74 704 7.4 1.0 3.0 3 2036 625 77 666 7.1 1.0 3.0 Vlaspik 1 1628 649 82 567 8.0 1.0 3.3 2 1383 593 85 455 7.6 1.0 3.3 3 2082 726 84 475 8.0 1.0 3.8 NC-Danbury 1 1381 305 72 969 4.9 1.0 4.0 2 1665 431 91 995 4.8 1.0 3.5 3 1799 435 86 973 4.7 1.3 3.5 z Data are means of 2 seasons and 6 replications summed over 8 harvests. Table 3. Fruit yield and sex expression data for 14 cultivars and 2 seasons tested in patio containers vs. field plots.z Total yield Early yield Marketable fruit Gynoecious rating Cultivar or (g/pot) (Mg/ha) (g/pot) (Mg/ha) (%) (%) (1-9) (1-9) breeding line Patio Field Patio Field Patio Field Patio Field Pickling type NC-Danbury 2321 39.5 461 4.4 91 89 3.7 5.0 NC-Dixon 2404 55.9 507 10.6 91 91 3.7 6.0 M 21 1671 42.3 552 8.9 85 79 3.8 7.0 M 27 1792 26.4 348 1.1 82 87 4.3 4.0 NC-74 2397 33.1 650 5.1 93 94 3.8 4.0 Picklebush 2593 53.7 764 8.0 88 90 3.8 4.0 Sumter 2011 49.1 688 7.9 86 85 3.5 5.0 Vlaspik 2820 64.3 885 15.6 95 81 8.2 9.0 Slicing type Bush Champion 2253 50.3 401 6.6 80 82 3.5 5.0 Bush Whopper II 1996 25.2 378 0.0 93 82 4.3 3.0 Cherokee 7 2661 65.5 771 24.9 78 84 5.8 4.0 Dasher II 2555 63.6 794 19.4 80 92 7.0 7.0 Marketmore 76 2344 33.2 401 2.2 90 96 5.2 3.0 Spacemaster 80 3047 61.4 756 22.1 83 76 7.5 6.0 r (patio vs. field) 0.93** 0.73** 0.68** 0.51* z Data are means of 2 seasons and 6 replications summed over 8 harvests. Cucumber Cultivars and Cultural Practices for Patio Gardening Melisa Crane and Todd C. Wehner Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7609 NC STATE UNIVERSITY • Results • Patio Trial • - Yield in the spring was 300% higher than the summer season • - Yield was highest at 3 plants/container (Table 2) • - Pickling type would be a good choice for the thin skin on the fruit • - Slicing type would be a good choice for longer keeping ability • - No increase in powdery or downy mildew with increasing plant density • - Monoecious type has longer harvest season; does not require a pollenizer • - Dwarf type takes less patio space • Best monoecious dwarf cultivar was 'NC-Danbury' (Figure 2) • Patio vs. Field Trial • - Strong correlations between patio and field (Table 3) • - For total yield (r=0.93), early yield (r=0.73) • - For % marketable fruit (r=0.68), powdery mildew (r=0.74) • - Patio gardeners can get good information from field trial publications Introduction - Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) ranks as a major vegetable crop around the world - Many people in the U.S. have small yards, with limited vegetable gardening space - Container gardening is increasing rapidly in the U.S. - There are limited extension recommendations for cucumber production in containers - There are some cultivar recommendations, but they are not consistent (Table 1) - Objectives: determine best conditions for container production of cucumber determine best types of cucumbers for use in container production recommend some cultivars suitable for container production Methods - Location: Horticultural Crops Research Station in Clinton, NC - Design: 14 cultigens, 3 plant densities, 2 seasons, 6 replications, 8 harvests - Spring season planted 9 May; summer season planted 11 August - Pickling cucumbers: M 21, NC-74, M 27, 'NC-Danbury', 'NC-Dixon', 'Sumter', 'Vlaspik', 'Picklebush' - Slicing cucumbers: 'Bush Whopper II', 'Spacemaster 80', 'Bush Champion', 'Marketmore 76', 'Dasher II', and 'Cherokee 7' Patio Trial - Container size: 12 L, with 1, 2, or 3 plants - Spacing: 1.5 x 1.5 m on raised beds covered with black plastic (Figure 1) - Irrigation: 1 hour per day in the morning (flow rate of 12 L/hr) Field Trial - Plots were single 6.1 m rows with 1.5 m alleys at each end - Rows were 1.5 m apart (center to center) References 1. 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University of Illinois Extension. http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/veggies/cucumber1.html#5 22. Wright, R. 1934. The History of gardening. Garden City, NY. Figure 1. Field layout of containers for cucumber experiment showing black plastic mulch, drip irrigation, and electric fence, spring 2005, Clinton, NC. Figure 2. Fruit and vines of 'NC-Danbury' (dwarf-determinate pickling type) and 'Dasher II' (tall-indeterminate slicing type) cucumber hybrids.