Cucumber is one of the most significant vegetable crops in the world. It is farmed for local consumption as few green fruits are eaten fresh or pickled.

At the consumer maturity stage, cucumber fruits have a 4–6% dry matter content. They include carbohydrates, proteins, fibers, lipids, and mineral salts, the most significant of which are potassium salts.

Cucumber fruits are low in vitamin content, including trace quantities of vitamin C and carotene above 260 and vitamins B1, B5, and B9. Cucumber fruits also have a high concentration of enzymes that aid in digesting and metabolizing fatty and protein components.

They are also distinguished by their alkaline-effect mineral salts, which balance the acidity of the bloodstream on the one hand while also aiding in the dissolution of kidney stones and increasing urine production on the other.

 Preparing the soil for cucumber planting

Plow the land well twice before planning to a depth of 30 cm.

It is preferable to put organic and chemical fertilizers close to the area of the roots spread, mix the fertilizer with the soil, and then cover it with a layer of soil 20 cm thick after planning the land for terraces with a width of 1–1.2 m or 30 cm, and filling in the compost after placing it in the soil. The planting is done on this layer.

After planning and composting, the soil may be irrigated with abundant irrigation, and then it is planted about 10 days later,  after the land has been plowed, according to the air temperature.

Modern farming methods

Drip irrigation networks are used in open fields or covered with plastic. The distance between irrigation hoses is usually 1.75 m, and the distance between the dots in Khartoum is 50 cm. The planting is either directly by seeds or by seedlings. Two cucumber plants are planted next to each other on each plant's side at a distance of 10–15 cm.

When preparing the soil that uses drip irrigation networks, it is taken into account to place organic and chemical fertilizers in a trench dug along the length of the ground under irrigation hoses at a depth of 15 cm, and the terraces are resisted so that the depth of the fertilizer becomes 30 cm.

Production of cucumber seedlings: 

The farmer resorts to planting cucumber seedlings in the case of high-priced hybrids and early cultivation when the weather is not suitable for cultivation on permanent land.

It has been proven that the best environment for planting seeds is a 1:1 mixture of Al Bait Moss and modified vermiculite. 

The pH of Al Bait Moss is adjusted by adding 4 kg of tile powder to each bale of Al Bait Moss and adding to each bale 400 gm of superphosphate + 200 gm of ammonia sulfate + 150 gm of potassium sulfate + 50 gm of Benlite or Topsin as a fungicide + 50 g of any mixture of trace elements.

Cucumber Fertilisation:

Pumpkin crops need relatively high amounts of organic fertilizer. An acre of cucumber needs about 30–40 m3 of organic fertilizer, half pure municipal fertilizer, and half poultry manure.

For every meter of organic fertilizer, the following chemical fertilizers are added:

10 kg of superphosphate.

1.5 kg of agricultural sulfur.

1.5 kilograms of ammonia sulfate.

3 kg of potassium sulfate.

This mixture has been proven to increase the degree to which plants benefit from organic fertilizer.

Chemical fertilizers.

After about 45 days of planting, add the following:

Ammonium nitrate (100 kg) + potassium sulfate (100 kg).

Added 15 days after the previous payment:

50 kg ammonia nitrate + 50 kg potassium sulfate

According to the condition of the plant and the crop, a third batch can be added at the same rate as the second batch.

Adding chemical fertilizers to lands that are irrigated by drip begins after adding municipal fertilizer with irrigation water when germination is complete in the case of seed cultivation or after a week of transferring seedlings at the following rates:

1 g ammonia nitrate + 0.75 g potassium sulfate + 0.2 cm3 phosphoric acid per litre of irrigation water.

The fertilizer additions are modified after flowering and knotting to become 1 gm of ammonia nitrate and 1 gm of potassium sulfate per liter of irrigation water.

Irrigation of cucumber

The regularity of irrigation and the lack of hydration in the phases of vegetative growth, flowering, and fruit formation, with the cessation of fertilization and the continuation of irrigation in the last two weeks of the harvest, are considered.