Selecting Cultivars
There are many cultivars available for greenhouse cucumber production. The cultivars available are generally produced by European seed companies; however, several of the companies have sales and technical support representatives in North America. In addition, many greenhouse supply companies are distributors for the seed companies. Cultivars change frequently and, as a result, growers should consult current recommendations through local Extension agents and industry representatives. Several factors should be considered when selecting a cultivar, including disease resistance, plant vigor, early and total yields, fruit size and color, and general fruit quality. Disease resistance is an especially important factor when selecting a cultivar. Diseases can be severe in Florida greenhouses, and fungicide options are limited in the greenhouse. Diseases that can be problems in greenhouse cucumbers in Florida include gummy stem blight, gray mold, downy mildew, powdery mildew, cucumber mosaic, watermelon mosaic, and Pythium root rot in NFT. Growers must determine the levels of resistance or tolerance in the cultivars considered for production. Selection of a resistant cultivar may be the only practical method of control for some diseases.
Two evaluations of twelve cultivars were conducted in the fall of 1995 and the spring of 1996 at Live Oak. Several cultivars performed well in that trial including 'Kalunga', 'Bellissma', 'Millagon', 'Discover', 'Marianna', 'Fitness', 'Aramon', and 'Fidelio'. The most susceptible to mildew in that trial were '90-0048', 'E1828', 'Futurea', and 'B-1157'. 'Fidelio', a long-time popular cultivar produced, well in the trial and had especially smooth fruit; however, it had the shortest fruit length of the twelve cultivars. The longest fruits were consistently produced by '90-0048'. The darkest fruit color was found 'Kalunga', 'Bellissima', and 'E1828'. The lightest green fruit color was found in Futura. The cultivar 'Tyria' has been especially susceptible to gummy stem blight lesions inside the fruit in Florida grower's trials and is not recommended in Florida. 'Bologna' has also been very popular among Florida producers since the late 1990s.
In addition to the standard long European cucumbers, special markets may also be developed for shorter miniature or "beit-alpha" types. Some miniature cucumber cultivars are especially susceptible to powdery mildew and the tolerance level of each cultivar should be checked. Popular cultivars in Florida include 'Manar' and 'Jawell'.
Spacing and Training
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