Cucumber

Resilience of cucumber is regularly put to the test

Cucumber cultivation in greenhouses, with rapid plant and fruit growth and several harvest cycles each year, demands a lot from the plant. Therefore, as a grower, it is especially important that you can work with plants that withstand abiotic stress. By using our fertilisers and biostimulants from the very start your cucumber plants will be stronger.

ArgicinPlus is key to starting cultivation with strong cucumber plants!

A young cucumber plant that has been made more robust, resilient, strong and firm during propagation will yield first-class high-quality cucumbers later during the growing phase. Therefore, talk to your propagator and ensure that the young plants are treated with our CE fertiliser ArgicinPlus, that contains both orthosilicic acid (silicon), willow bark extract and colloidal silver.

  • By being built into the cell walls, silicon ensures that the stalk and leaf are stronger. Silicon also improves the internal transport of water, ensuring that both water and nutrients also reach their destination more easily.
  • Good root development is initiated by the willow bark extract. This encourages faster and more uniform root growth from the root block in the slab. The young cucumber plant grows better and more evenly. Therefore, on balance, there are fewer failures!
  • The colloidal silver helps to increase the chlorophyll content and also helps to prevent the leaf temperature becoming too high by diffusing the incoming light.

 

Due to these effects, it is always wise to use ArgicinPlus. ArgicinPlus can be combined with biological crop protection, with no safety term before harvest.

Recommended dosage/advice for use - ArgicinPlus in cucumber propagation

  • Recommended dose: 1.0 litre/ha/week ArgicinPlus in spray mixture amounts up to 500 litres. Add an additional 0.2 litres of ArgicinPlus for every 100 litres of spray mixture. Crop spraying is preferable. Administration via LVM (low volume misting) is an alternative.
  • Interval: every 7 days after the primary leaf emerges after germination.

 

Improve the resilience of cucumber commercial growing with SalicylPure and SilicaPower

With the CE marked biostimulants SalicylPure and SilicaPower, you immediately make a huge impact right at the start of commercial growing in terms of growth, root development and robustness.

The silicon in SilicaPower strengthens the cell walls and epidermis of the leaf, improves distribution and absorption of nutrients, improves the internal transport of water and therefore reduces drought stress. It is known that when leaves are stronger (physical barrier) they are less susceptible to infections and to piercing pests. Later on in the growth phase, SilicaPower will ensure that cucumbers have a stronger and therefore less vulnerable skin.

SalicylPure mainly improves the cucumber plant’s self-healing capacity and root development. It is evident from real-life experience that after SalicylPure is applied, the plant produces fruit earlier on and, on average, these cucumbers are 25 grams heavier.

Recommended dosage/advice for use – SalicylPure and SilicaPower in commercial growing of cucumbers

  • 1 litre of SalicylPure per hectare per week. In the first crop, mid-April is early enough to start. In the second (and third if applicable) crop, we recommend starting when cultivation starts (until the end of cultivation).
  • 0.35 litres of SilicaPower per hectare per week. Start with the first dose immediately after planting and repeat this dose until the end of cultivation.
  • In high-wire crops, keep to a dose of 0.3 litres of SilicaPower per hectare. Silicon is a trace element, keep to the stated dose and do not allow this to accumulate.

 

You can administer both products via irrigation (dose from the A fertiliser feeder or separate fertiliser injector based on the aforementioned doses), or you can spray. If you spray, an adjusted dose: 0.5 litres/ha/week (and 0.4 litres/ha/week in high wire crops) applies specifically to SilicaPower.

Improve growing conditions during cultivation by restoring the balance of soil life

The (organic) substrates or perlite on which many cucumbers are grown under glass, do not contain any nutrients or soil life initially. Everything that the plant needs for growth has to be supplied. Your cucumber plants will thrive best with a uniform root environment and balanced soil life in which roots can develop and grow. To give soil life a helping hand, especially when the growing conditions are slightly less favourable, we recommend adding Soil Bac-1. This is our basic product for improving the microbiological soil life. Soil Bac-1 contains a Bacillus mix of gram positive bacteria that help with root formation and help to rebalance the soil life.

Recommended dosage/advice for use - Soil Bac-1

  • The starting dose is 2.5 litres of Soil Bac-1 per hectare, added in a single shot to the drip feeder from a separate fertiliser feeder. After a month give at least 2 follow-up doses of 2.5 litres of Soil-Bac-1 each time (interval: 1 month).
  • Soil Bac-1 can also be sprayed or irrigated. The dose is then 250 ml of Soil Bac-1/100 litres of water.

 

Keep your irrigation water clean with Blue Bac water-maintenance products

To grow your cucumber plants as stress-free as possible, the plants must always have plenty of feed water available to them. This means ensuring that no algae are present in the water basin/silo and that the irrigation system is free from blockages. To achieve this, our solution is to use our 100% natural water-maintenance products Blue Bac-1 and Blue-Bac-2.

No algae in the basin/silo with Blue Bac-1 and no blockages in the pipes with Blue Bac-2

Both Blue Bac products are bacterial products, each with their own bacteria and therefore a specific action. With Blue Bac-1, algae in basins are barely given the chance to grow. Plus, dead algae are more easily and effectively digested. In just a short period of time, your basin/silo will be clear and will remain clear.

Blue Bac-2 is most effective when used in the pipes and drippers of your irrigation system. The enzymes formed by the bacteria in Blue Bac-2 form a sort of very smooth coating on the inside of the pipes, which organic contaminants such as sand or phosphate deposits cannot adhere to. The use of Blue Bac-2 also has a positive effect on the root development of plants and helps you to maintain the pH (stability) of your feed water.

Recommended dosage/advice for use Blue Bac-1

  • As a starting dose, administer 2 litres of Blue Bac-1 /500 m3 of basin water in the spring. The best result can be expected at a water temperature upwards of 15°C (usually in mid-April).
  • Repeat the application of Blue Bac-1 every month at a dose of 1 litre/500 m3 of basin water.
  • To achieve the best effect, Blue Bac-1 should be mixed through the water thoroughly, moving horizontally. Therefore, add the product as far away from the intake point as possible. Thorough aeration using a Venturi or waterfall also improves the effect.

 

Recommended dosage/advice for use Blue Bac-2

  • Start with 5 litres of Blue Bac-2/ha, given in a single shot from a separate fertiliser injector or add to the day storage tank or the A fertiliser feeder. For the best effect, we recommend aerating the irrigation water properly with a Venturi or waterfall.
  • Repeat this dose every month until the end of the growing season.
     

Important tip

The recommended products ArgicinPlus, SalicylPure and Soil Bac cannot be used in irrigation water to which hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or another product containing chlorine has been added. The ingredients in the recommended products are broken down in just five minutes. Blue Bac-1 and Blue Bac-2 are natural alternatives to H2O2 or other chemical disinfectants, such as hypochlorite. Contact our advisor to discuss our solution if you nevertheless wish to use hydrogen peroxide at the same time as ArgicinPlus, SalicylPure, or Soil Bac.

Additional advice?

Do you have any additional questions or would you like to know which biostimulants and CE fertilisers are best suited to your own growing situation? Contact your dealer or our advisor Alwin Scholten for appropriate advice. Call Alwin on telephone number +31 (0)6 49 33 49 30, or contact him by email alwin.scholten@plantosys.nl.

 

What can we achieve together for your cucumber crop?

By applying our fertilisers and biostimulants, you will see various effects in your cucumber plants, such as:

  • strengthening of the plant’s own immune system
  • improved resistance and resilience of your cucumber plants
  • a better developed root system of your plants
Alwin Scholten

Your contact person

Alwin Scholten

+31 (0)6 49 33 49 30E-mail

General director

nldeenruworld

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