Gherkin
Botanical Name -Cucumis anguria
Family – Cucurbitaceae
Adam Gherkin
Soil –
Well-drained sandy loam with a pH range of 6.0 to 6.8 is optimum.
Climate-
have to be cultivated under low-light conditions and non-optimal temperatures. substrate should be around 24 to 25 degrees Celsius. industry with gherkins.
800 g per hectare.
Sowing
Sow the seeds at 30 cm spacing on sides of the ridges with 2 seeds per hill after
treating with Trichoderma viride @ 4 g or Pseudomonas @ 10 g or carbendizim @ 2 g/kg of
seeds.
Preparatory Cultivation
Apply 25 t/ha of FYM. Prepare ridges and furrows one metre
apart.
Manuring
Apply N – 150 kg, P – 75 kg and K – 100 kg/ha in 3 equal splits i.e., basal,
three and five weeks after sowing.
After Cultivation
Earth up the plants 25 days after sowing. Provide support to plants as
and when vines start trailing
Drip Irrigation
Install drip system with main and sub-main pipes and place the inline lateral tubes at
an interval of 1.5m. Place the drippers in lateral tubes at an interval of 60 cm and 50 cm
spacing with 4 LPH and 3.5 LPH capacities respectively
Field Preparation
Raise beds of 120 cm width at an interval of 30 cm and place the
laterals at the centre of each bed.
Fertigation
Apply the recommended dose of fertilizers viz., 150:75:100 Kg NPK / ha through
fertigation on every third day after sowing
Plant Protection
Pests Control measure
Leaf miner, white fly, aphids and thrips Spray Dimethoate 1.5 ml/lit. or Malathion 1.5 ml/l.
Spray carbendazim @ 0.05 % to control fungal diseases
Harvest
The crop is ready for harvest in 30-35 days. As the tender immature fruits are meant
for canning the price of the produce is decided by the stage of maturity. Smallest fruit (stage
1) which will weigh approximately 4.0g (250 fruits per kg) will fetch the maximum price
followed by stage 2 and stage 3. To maintain the grade, the harvesting of fruits should be
done every day. A day‘s break would end up with outsized or overgrown gherkin means loss
to farmer. Avoid sharp sun and high temperature while harvesting. For this picking of fruits
must be none in the very early morning or late evening. Harvest the fruits by retaining the
stalk on the plant. Harvested fruits must be collected under shade. Flower head has to be
removed from fruit. Water should not be sprinkled on harvested fruits at any stage. Even if
there is surface water during harvest it should be dried by aeration. For collection of fruits
jute bags alone have to be used and plastic bags should be totally avoided. The harvested
produce should be transported to the factory on the same day before dusk. Leaving the
gherkin unprocessed overnight would result in poor quality produce.
Yield
10 – 12 tonnes/ha in 90 days.
