ISHS Acta Horticulturae 156: XII Working Party on Greenhouse Cucumbers
LATEST DEVELOPMENT IN THE COMMERCIAL CUCUMBER PRODUCTION UNDER GLASS IN DENMARK |
| Author: | E. Jensen |
| Abstract:
Total glasshouse area with cucumbers is about 30 ha. Average yield pr. m2 about 80, but up to 150 pieces in the best nurseries. Average weight of fruits about 350 g. All cucumbers in Denmark are grown in rockwool, foam-bags or peat-plates. There is an increasing interest for recirculating nutrient solutions. The greenhouse area with cucumbers is slowly decreasing in Denmark. The reason for that is connected with the fact, that most of the cucumber nurseries are typical family firms with the owner, his wife and maybe one pupil or an assistant as the only labour. In such nurseries, it has been easier to earn normal wages by potplant production and many of these small-growers have changed to grow potplants. Some years ago, we had about 60 ha with glasshouse cucumbers, but today we have only about 30 ha. In Denmark all the cucumbers are sold by piece, and the best prices are obtained for the small to medium sized fruits. The average weight for the Danish cucumbers is about 350 g. This is the reason for other choice of cultivars; than in most other countries. The average yield pr. year and m2 is approximately 80 pieces, but in the best of the nurseries, it is possible to obtain about 150 pieces pr. m2. This yield has been nearly constant for many years now, but the harvest period has decreased from about 40 weeks 20 years ago to about 25 weeks today. In an effective cucumber production it means an increase in the weekly yield from about 3 pieces to about 5 pieces pr. m2. The distribution of the yield is shown in table 1. The increase in the weekly yield has to be seen in relation to the change of cultivars, who are more sensitive to the growing conditions than earlier. That means, that it is possible to control the plant/ fruit ratio by climatic and/or water uptake /EC-control/. For the moment, the main cultivar in Denmark is the "Daleva" from Bruinsma Seeds, Holland. From sowing date to planting out, it needs 25 to 30 days, depending on the light conditions. And from planting out to first harvest another 3 weeks are sufficient. Growing-programme is shown in table 2. But new cultivars appear every year, and for the moment it seems to be increasing interest for the cultivar "Aminex" from Sluis & Groot, Holland. Today all the cucumbers in Denmark are grown isolated from the soil-surface in rockwool, foam-bags or in peat-plates. There are advantages and disadvantages with all 3 types of growing medias. | |
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files) | |
