Fertilizer Guide
Cucumber belongs to the Cucurbitaceae familiy. Its botanical name is Cucumis sativus (L.) and it is an annual herbaceous plant. There are three main varieties of cucumber: slicing, pickling, and seedless. The cucumber is originally from South Asia, but now grows on most continents.
Climate: If temperatures during the day oscillate between 20°C - 30°C barely have impact on production, although at higher temperature, higher early production. Above 30°C, imbalances that directly affect the processes of photosynthesis, respiration, and temperatures are observed. Temperatures below 16°C at night can cause malformations in leaves and fruits.
- Germination. 27ºC day and night
- Vegetative Growth. 21ºC day and 19ºC night
- Fruit development. 19ºC day and 16ºC night
Humidity: It is a plant with high requirements of humidity due to its large leaf surface. Optimum relative humidity of 60-70% during the day and 70-90% during the night.
Soil: Any type of light textured soils, well drained and with high organic matter. It has a moderately salinity tolerance.
pH: 5.5-7
Carbon dioxide in greenhouses: The optimum amounts of CO2 are 500-900 ppm.
Nutritional requirements
| kg/ha | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expected yield (t) | N | P2O5 | K2O | CaO | MgO |
| 30 | 80-110 | 35-45 | 90-120 | ||
| 200 | 320 | 69 | 500 | 180 | 60 |
Fertigation recommendations
Nutrient requirements (kg/ha) for a cucumber farm greenhouse transplanted in the first half of July, with a planting density of 1.3 plants/m2 and average estimated yield of 100-110 tonnes, are as follows:
| kg/ha | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stages | Fortnight | N | P2O5 | K2O | CaO | MgO |
| Establishment | 1 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 3 | 0 |
| Vegetative Development | 2 | 15 | 12 | 25 | 14 | 3 |
| Fruit set/Fruit development | 3 | 30 | 16 | 45 | 35 | 8 |
| 4 | 37 | 26 | 45 | 21 | 3 | |
| 5 | 35 | 25 | 35 | 21 | 3 | |
| 6 | 35 | 17 | 35 | 21 | 3 | |
| 7 | 35 | 17 | 35 | 21 | 3 | |
| Production | 8 | 35 | 17 | 35 | 21 | 3 |
| 9 | 35 | 17 | 35 | 21 | 3 | |
| 10 | 35 | 17 | 35 | 21 | 2 | |
| 11 | 35 | 0 | 35 | 21 | 2 | |
| Total | 335 | 170 | 370 | 220 | 33 |
Foliar fertilizers
Cucumber assimilates foliar fertilizers quite well. It is a large consumer of Magnesium that will be applied via foliar. Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Calcium are also applied via foliar.
Foliar fertilization is the fastest and most effective method to supplement and enrich plant nutrition and to correct nutritional deficiencies when needed. This contributes significantly to higher and better quality productions.
Lima Europe has a wide range of foliar fertilizers and special products for foliar application.
To verify the safe rate under local conditions, it is advisable to spray recommended rate on a few plants. After 3-4 days check the tested plants for scorching symptoms.
Cucumber fertilizer program
5 NPK Terra 12-44-12 + 6 CaO + 3 MgO + TE
5 NPK Multi 20-20-20 + 6 CaO + 3 MgO + TE
5 NPK Fructus 18-9-36 + 6 CaO + 3 MgO +TE
Starter 16-69-16 +TE: 2-5 kg/ha at plant establishment stage
Vegetative 27-27-27 + 3 MgO + TE: 2-5 kg/ha at vegetative growth stage
Fruit 18-11-59 + 2 MgO + TE: 2-5 kg/ha at fruit development stage
Grogreen Ca/B: 2-4 kg/ha. In order to correct Ca deficiency. Ca/B increases flowering and fruit set
Zn E-15: 200 g/hl. 2-4 applications during vegetative growth before flowering
Pro-mino: 200-300 ml/hl from establishment to fruit set
Micro: 0.5-1.5 kg/ha. Possible deficiencies from vegetative growth to fruit development
proteKt-K50: 2 l/ha. 1 application before first flowering and 3-5 applications at fruit growth stage