Hydroponically Produced Mini-cucucmber with Improved Powdery Mildew Resistance

Additional Index Words. Cucumis sativus L., greenhouse, protected culture, beit alpha cucumber Abstract. The Beit Alpha (BA) cucumber is a new commodity for the Florida greenhouse industry. In past trials, BA cultivar production and quality were compared to traditional ‘Dutch’ or European cucumber cultivars. The cv. Sarig, a BA-type, produced three times more yield than the Dutch-type cv. Kalunga. The BA cucumber was originally bred for production on an Israeli kibbutz. More recently, several seed companies in Holland began distributing a similar BA cucumber, termed the ‘mini-cucumber’ (MC) with proposed powdery mildew resistance (a trait lacking in some early BA cultivars). In Spring 2002, four Dutch MC cultivars, two US released MC cultivars and six BA-type Israeli cultivars were compared for yield, fruit quality and disease resistance. Plants were grown hydroponically in perlite in a passive-ventilated high-roof greenhouse in Gainesville, FL. Fruit were harvested 27 times from 13 March until 24 May, 2002. Fruit were graded and weighed, and powdery mildew resistance was evaluated at the end of the season. ‘Figaro’, ‘Manar’, ‘Sarawat’, and ‘Meitav’ produced the greatest amount of fruit, an average of 238 fruitm. The control cv. Sarig produced 213 fruitm. Average fruit weight ranged from 103 g for ‘Figaro’ to 139 g for ‘Diva’. For early control of powdery mildew, ‘Quadris’ fungicide was applied 2 and 4 weeks after transplanting, with ‘Nova’ applied during week 3. No other fungicide applications were made in order to allow powdery mildew to ____________________________ Florida Agriculture Experiment Station Journal Series No. _________