The cucumber is a very fast-growing plant. It takes only 2 to 3 weeks after the transplant of young cucumber plants for the harvest to start. The downside of this fast-growing is that the top of the crop quickly reaches the wire peak. Traditionally, when this point is reached, growers would bend the top of the crop over the crop-wire. Due to gravity, the top of the crop then grows downward. After a stem grows some 1,5 meters long more, the top is picked up and bent over the crop-wire again. This can be done once more. But after that, the bunch of leaves and stems becomes so messy that the crop has to be removed. After the removal of the old crop, a new crop has to be planted. This gives short cultivation cycles and many weeks without crop in between. When using a high wire system, the training-wire can be elongated and shifted aside (lowering) to cope with the continuously growing stem (up to 60 cm a week). In that way, one crop cycle can stay productive for a longer period. Moreover, the cucumber yield quality may be improved.
In a comparative trial, a high-wire grown crop was compared with a crop growing using the traditional umbrella system.
Experimental History
Seed Sowing: 10 June 2018
Variety: Alfrid (Rijk Zwaan)
Top Removal: 24 June 2018 (this was done to induce 2 equal stems growing from one plant)
Transplanting: 28 June 2018
Plant Density: 1.875 plants per m²
Stem Density: 3.75 stems per m²
- Study the effect of two growing systems (high-wire and traditional umbrella systems) on cucumber yield.
- Studying the effect of the two growing systems on the plant crop cycle.
- Two cropping systems, high-wire and umbrella grew in two plastic greenhouses.
After the crop has been sown on the 10th of June, the young crop was transplanted on the 28th of June. The start of the crop was without problems and the production started off from the 12th of July.
The graph below shows the production in a time of both the compartments
Figure 1. Cumulative Production of cucumber in time for the two observed cropping systems.
For both treatments, the crops started equally with a production of 2.5 kg/m² per week, but after about 10 weeks, the plants growing in the Umbrella system productivity started to decrease. The total yield of the umbrella system was 30 kg/m2, while the total yield of the high wire system was 38 kg/m2. furthermore, crop cycle duration was increased up to 153 days when using a high wire system as compared with an umbrella system (124 days).
Conclusions
- High-wire cucumber gave steady-going production for 20 weeks, whereas the umbrella system stopped producing after 15 weeks.
- The high-wire system improves productivity by 26% as compared with the umbrella system.
- Investment in trollies for easy access to the high-wire system improves labor efficiency, quality of crop handling; and therefore the cropping result.