Many gardeners complain about the ovary falling off on cucumbers. Why does this happen and how to avoid crop loss?
Most often this happens when growing cucumbers in a film greenhouse. There may be several reasons.

Causes of yellowing and falling of the ovary of cucumbers and their elimination

Knowing the reasons why cucumber ovaries do not ripen, you can easily avoid agricultural mistakes and get a good harvest at a minimum cost.

1. Incorrect light conditions in the greenhouse

The development of cucumbers is greatly affected by a lack of light, and it is extremely important that the greenhouse is well lit. It is installed in a well-lit open place. It should not be blocked by any structures or trees.

To save space, gardeners sometimes overplant a greenhouse. different cultures and seedlings. Soon after the plants get stronger and begin to grow, they will begin to interfere with each other. They cannot be planted too often, otherwise, as they grow, they will lack nutrition and light.

This especially applies to modern parthenocarpic varieties. They are planted per 1 square meter of no more than three plants. If this condition is not met, the cucumbers interfere with each other, there is not enough light, etc.

Not correct formation also has a negative effect. Side shoots that have reached 25 cm must be pinched so that they do not grow, creating extra shadow. In the axils of the leaves, rudimentary elements grow. Their removal helps direct all the plant’s forces to the development and vegetation of the main bush and preserve the existing ovary.

It is necessary to remove all stepsons from the first 5 leaves. The stepsons located above are pinched after the second leaf. When these stepsons grow up and have their own, they are also pinched, but after the first leaf. If such procedures are not carried out, the yield will be lower.

2. Air and soil temperatures are too low or high

During the growth period, hybrid cucumbers need a daytime temperature of 20-24 degrees, and a night temperature of at least 17 degrees. When fruiting begins, the temperature should be about 2 degrees higher. When the soil temperature drops to 13 degrees, cucumbers may die. In film greenhouses there are sudden temperature changes. Destructive for cucumbers. During the day, plants can overheat, and at night the temperature sometimes drops significantly. Greenhouses must be ventilated, but drafts should not be allowed.

3. Lack of mineral nutrition

Cucumber ovaries may fall off due to a lack of minerals or their incorrect ratio. During the growth period of the plant, it is fed with manure. When cucumbers begin to bear fruit, they need to be watered well; at the same time, watering leaches nitrogen and potassium from the soil. The plant does not have enough nutrition and needs to be fed periodically. Herbal infusions and ash are used for feeding. They are fed with special preparations for fruit set.

4. Excess or lack of moisture

As cucumber seedlings grow, the soil may be less moist. But when fruiting begins, watering increases. But they only water warm water! To increase female flowers, a technique is used: do not water cucumbers for several days until the soil dries out.

5. The weather is unsuitable for bees to work.

If the weather is cloudy for too long, the bees will not fly and pollination will not occur. The ovary dries up and falls off. The same thing happens in extreme heat, when insects fly past stuffy greenhouses.

6. The yield of hybrid varieties is too high

Modern hybrid seeds are very productive. The formation of fruits takes away all the nutrition, there is not enough of it, and the mother plant is forced to get rid of the ovary by shedding it. To fix this, you need to remove excess flowers in advance. When ripe, the fruits must be collected regularly, not allowing them to grow to too large a size. This also affects the safety of the ovary, since young cucumbers do not have enough nutrition.

Some summer residents are familiar with the problematic situation when, for no apparent reason, the ovaries of cucumbers turn yellow and fall off. What factors contribute to the development of such an unpleasant phenomenon, and what must be taken into account to avoid it?

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As observations show, most often summer residents who grow this crop in film greenhouses face the problem of drying and falling of cucumber ovaries (this aspect will be discussed in more detail below). And most often favorable conditions For this problem to arise, oddly enough, it is the gardener himself who creates it.

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According to experts, the ovary of cucumbers begins to turn yellow and fall off for several main reasons, namely:

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• 1) Violation of the light regime;
• 2) Violation temperature regime soil and air;
• 3) Violation mineral nutrition;
• 4) High yield of hybrids;
• 5) Deficiency or excess of moisture in the soil;
• 6) Bad job bees due to cloudy or, conversely, very hot weather.

Let's try to look in more detail at each of the above reasons why the ovaries on cucumbers dry out.

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1) Violation of the light regime for cucumbers

As you know, cucumbers are plants that are extremely demanding of light, the lack of which has a detrimental effect on their growth and development. Therefore, if you intend to grow this crop in greenhouse conditions- even at the stage of constructing a cultivation structure, learn how to properly install a greenhouse on the site so that the building is fully illuminated.

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Light deficiency can also be caused by the abundance of green space grown in the greenhouse. Often, beginning gardeners try to plant as much as possible in the greenhouse space. more plants, completely overlooking the fact that after a while they will begin to obscure each other. Therefore, before you start growing cucumbers for seedlings, try to calculate with maximum accuracy how much will be needed, adding about 10% more so-called to the resulting amount. "insurance" bushes.

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Do not forget that modern cucumber hybrids (especially parthenocarpic hybrids) have a developed vegetative system, so they should be planted taking into account the recommended nutritional area for each individual plant. Thus, parthenocarpic hybrids are planted one (less often two) plants per 1 square meter. m, and bee-pollinated hybrids - 2-3 plants per 1 sq.m. By not observing the prescribed frequency of planting, you can further provoke the fact that the grown plants will shade each other, and the formed cucumber ovaries will begin to turn yellow and fall off.

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The absence of periodic pinching, due to which the correct formation of the bush, can also lead to drying of the ovaries. If you do not pay attention to this in a timely manner, the branching side shoots, growing, will obscure each other. It is necessary to pinch the upper part of the shoots, not allowing their length to exceed 20-25 cm (such long shoots weaken the plant as a whole and cause the ovaries on cucumbers to begin to turn yellow and fall off).

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The process of forming a cucumber bush begins with the so-called. procedures for “blinding” the leaf axils, in which the buds of flowers, tendrils and lateral shoots are located. As these parts of the plant grow, they will require more and more nutrition, which will lead to a weakening of the mother bush. Timely removal of the rudimentary elements hiding in the leaf axils will ensure that the mother bush will not waste its resources on the development of unnecessary shoots and will be able to develop a strong vegetative system.

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The number of “blinded” axils depends on the variety - for example, in relation to cultivation in film greenhouses, it is recommended that on bee-pollinated varieties there should be at least three of them (on one specimen), on parthenocarpic varieties - at least eight.

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2) Violation of the temperature regime of the soil and air for cucumbers

The optimal air temperature for growing parthenocarpic varieties before fruiting is considered to be +22..+24° in clear weather, +20…+22° in cloudy weather and +17°…+18° at night. When the plants begin to enter the fruiting phase, these indicators should increase to approximately +23...+26°, +21°...+23° and +18°...+20°, respectively. In turn, for the cultivation of bee-pollinated varieties, the presented temperature indicators increase by approximately 1-3° for both phases.

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Most comfortable temperature The soil range for growing this crop is considered to be +22°…+24°. The critical point is considered to be the interval +13...+15° - if the soil cools to this temperature, the tender ovaries of the cucumbers will turn yellow and fall off.

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Here we should talk about why cucumber ovaries dry out and fall off in film greenhouses. Most often, this occurs as a result of overheating of plantings and sudden temperature changes that occur due to the fact that the polyethylene coating perfectly transmits heat, as a result of which inner space greenhouses can be heated in hot weather up to 40° (and higher). At night, the film coating releases heat, which leads to strong cooling of the air inside the building, and this inevitably leads to the fall of the ovaries.

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3) Violation of mineral nutrition for cucumbers

The ovaries of cucumbers can also turn yellow and fall off as a result of a violation of mineral nutrition, and this reason may consist not only in a deficiency of certain elements, but also in their incorrect ratio. In addition, this may be due to a violation of temperature, air-gas conditions and air and/or soil humidity.

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Parthenocarpic varieties and hybrids are more dependent on this factor, since developing a powerful vegetative system, they need abundant watering, which, in turn, can provoke the leaching of potassium and nitrogen from the soil. With an acute deficiency of these elements in parthenocarpic varieties and hybrids of cucumbers, the ovaries begin to turn yellow, dry out and fall off. Therefore, during the fruiting period, do not forget to periodically feed the plantings with nitrogen-potassium fertilizers.

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4) High yield of cucumber hybrids

Modern hybrids are characterized high yield- especially parthenocarpics. In the axils of almost every leaf they have an ovary (sometimes even several), and it is natural that a plant that spends all its resources on the full development of the ovaries will get rid of excess load. To influence this process, it is necessary to remove the ovaries in a timely manner - even before the flowers bloom.

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5) Deficiency or excess of moisture in the soil for cucumbers

When growing cucumbers, it is necessary to take into account that the soil moisture before fruiting should be slightly lower than during the fruiting period. At the entire stage of fruit ripening, the soil should be as saturated with moisture as possible. However, do not forget that watering the plants cold water(10°-15°) is strictly forbidden - otherwise, this will lead to massive falling off of the ovaries.

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Speaking about watering, we should mention one technological trick that is often resorted to in order to increase the number of female flowers - for this, during the period of flower formation, cucumbers are not watered for several days in order to dry out the soil.

But it often happens that there are ovaries on cucumbers, but they do not develop, but turn yellow and fall off over time. The phenomenon is unpleasant, but correctable. Therefore, we suggest we talk about why cucumber ovaries turn yellow and what to do about it.

Why does the ovary of cucumbers not grow, but turn yellow?

The bush grows without formation

Most greenhouse varieties of cucumbers (most often the ovaries of cucumbers turn yellow in a greenhouse) capable of growing a huge vegetative mass. Such plants must be pinched - pinched, blinded, which we discussed in detail. In short, it is necessary to pinch all the shoots growing from the axils of the first 3-5 leaves, as well as all shoots growing higher, after the 2nd leaf. Only in this case will the sun-loving cucumber be able to receive enough light for the growth of the ovaries, and the ovary of the cucumbers will not turn yellow and fall off.

Thickened plantings of cucumbers

Very often, cucumber ovaries wither from root rot when a healthy-looking plant begins to dry out on top. Due to inadequate functioning of the root system, the plant does not properly provide the fruits with nutrients. In this case, you can avoid the fall of the cucumber ovary by tilting the plant towards the soil and pouring fertile soil onto the healthy part of the stem. Over time, young, healthy roots will appear in this area of ​​the vine, and the plant will recover safely. You can help him with this by treating him with complex mineral fertilizer and removing a significant part of the ovaries.

It is a serious problem when the ovaries of cucumbers turn yellow. What to do? Don’t sit idly by, but plant, water, feed, ventilate, and your cucumbers will definitely thank you with a generous harvest!

And now we bring to your attention a video about why cucumber ovaries turn yellow:

Tatyana Kuzmenko, member of the editorial board, correspondent of the online publication "AtmAgro. Agro-industrial Bulletin"

Strong, crispy cucumbers, even in regions where the climate is not conducive to high yields, are quite possible. Modern technologies growing vegetable crops in greenhouses and following the rules of care make it possible to do this without special effort. The seeds are carefully selected, planted correctly, the plants develop well, but the ovaries of the cucumbers turn yellow. This symptom of distress can be caused by a number of reasons.

Among the most likely factors for yellowing of the ovaries, diseases affecting cucumber vines may come first. Crop rotation must be observed not only when growing in open ground, but also in a greenhouse. However, if upon careful examination no damage, stains, or traces of vital activity are found on the plants spider mite or other pests, the reason is most likely something else. Why is this happening and what are the countermeasures?

Poor pollination

Breeders have developed parthenocarpic varieties and hybrids that do not require pollination and are intended for cultivation in greenhouses. Such plants have predominantly female flowers.

If you have bee-pollinated cucumbers, you need to take care to attract insects and plant pollinating varieties. With insufficient ventilation or dense planting, plants grow poorly and shed unfertilized flowers.

Lack of microelements

Poor soil - bad harvest. For some time, the soil gives up all its reserves to the plants, but if they are not replenished, there will be nothing to give back. The skinny stems grow slowly, the leaves are small, cucumbers sometimes don’t even have the strength to bloom, and there are no internal reserves at all for the ovary to develop properly. It also happens that there is a lot of ovary, but at one moment it all turns yellow.

The cause may be unbalanced feeding. The gardener is overly interested in some microelements and underestimates others. What to water the cucumbers with? Once every 2-3 years, it is enough to add complex fertilizer to the soil, and next season your cucumbers will delight you with an excellent harvest.

Temperature changes

The optimal temperature for the development of cucumbers in the fruiting phase is 23-26 degrees. If at a thermometer of +15 the vines grow poorly, at +12 they stop altogether, the roots stop absorbing moisture from the soil. Culture loves stability; sudden changes have a detrimental effect on plants.

Modern hybrids are designed to produce big harvest. A lot of ovary is formed in the axils of the leaves, but if conditions acceptable for the plant are not created, the excess ovary turns yellow, dries and falls off.

Improper watering

What you need to know about watering cucumbers? Plants are very demanding of moisture; cucumber ovaries turn yellow due to its lack. Ideally, the soil should be moistened at all times, but not flooded. Poor or excessive watering is detrimental to plants; everything is good in moderation.

Cold water also has a detrimental effect on heat-loving cucumbers. Careless watering at the roots in a greenhouse can lead to the development of root rot, and by directing the stream at the vines, you can knock pollen off the flowers. Drip irrigation systems are ideal for disease prevention.

Small distance between bushes

In pursuit of a large harvest, many greenhouse owners strive to plant maximum amount plants. Thickening of plantings is unacceptable. Illumination decreases, cucumbers compete for food and water, and unfavourable conditions for pollination.

How to prevent yellowing of the ovaries?

Inspecting the plants in the greenhouse at least twice a week will allow you to begin combating diseases or pests in a timely manner. Fungal diseases– root rot, powdery mildew may result overwatering, soil contamination or planting infected seedlings. Have you noticed that the ovaries of cucumbers are turning yellow? Follow the rules of care.

Pollination

What to do if there are no ovaries, why don’t cucumbers grow? To improve the quality of pollination in sunny weather open the greenhouse. To lure bees, place saucers with sugar-yeast syrup.

Pollinate plants by hand. Use a soft brush to collect pollen from the male flower and transfer it to the female flower. It could be easier. Rip off male flower, wrap it back or remove the petals. Rub the female flower with the male flower. The signal that you did everything right will be the wilting of the female flower the very next day. Now there is no need for it. The plant puts its energy into fruit growth.

Feeding

For the full development of a sufficient number of ovaries, fertilizers are necessary. If you planted cucumbers in well-filled holes with humus, it will be enough to spend a few foliar feeding solutions of humates. Regular soil will not be able to meet the needs of plants. If they develop slowly, several feedings are necessary during the season. What to water with? Comprehensive mineral fertilizers, infusion of fresh mullein, extract wood ash.

Stepsoning

Removing side shoots on cucumber vines is one of the important factors obtaining a high yield, and preventing the ovaries from falling off. Novice gardeners, in pursuit of quantity, are in no hurry to cut off their stepsons. Experienced people use the single-stem method in greenhouses. Leaves growing on additional side shoots create additional shadow, which interferes with the ripening of fruits. This causes cucumbers to grow poorly.

Distance between plants

Why is thickening of plantings dangerous? Infected by fungal diseases, the appearance of a large number of barren flowers, cucumbers do not grow, the ovary turns yellow and falls off. What to do? Follow the recommended planting scheme for cucumbers in a greenhouse or open ground for the variety.

The seeds are planted in a row every 15 cm. The distance between the rows is about a meter. For parthenocarpic varieties, it is permissible to reduce the row spacing to 70 cm.

Planting in holes, this method is called square-cluster, is more suitable for planting in open ground, the distance between planting holes is at least 50 cm.

Harvesting

Fruits should be collected on time. Overgrown cucumbers delay the development of other ovaries, even if they hang on the vine for an extra few hours.

What to do if there are no ovaries on cucumbers?

There may be several reasons why cucumber ovaries turn yellow:

• there is no complete pollination;
• too hot, at temperatures above 35 degrees. the flowers dry out, but there are no ovaries;
• low quality seeds or weak seedlings.

Control measures: careful preparation of the greenhouse and selection of high-quality planting material, optimal mode glaze, timely feeding and compliance with the rules of care. By following these simple recommendations, you will be provided with good harvest. That's what we wish for you!

A good harvest of cucumbers can be expected from healthy vines with dark green fruits. If yellowed ovaries appear on the bushes, and fallen and dried cucumbers are found on the ground, you need to pay more attention to the plant, find and eliminate the causes of this phenomenon.

Lack of light

Cucumbers are light-loving plants, so first of all, pay attention to the following factors:

• Obstacles along the way sun rays due to the density of planted plants. Congestion leads to a lack of lighting and deficiency nutrients.
• Lack of stem formation. In greenhouse conditions, it is recommended to pinch all side shoots and form cucumbers into 1 stem. Plant bushes at a distance of 1 m from each other. For open ground, the optimal distance is about 45 cm.

Temperature violation

Cucumbers are very sensitive to temperature changes:

• They do not tolerate cold air well. It only takes a drop in temperature to 8-9 degrees for the plant to start to hurt and stop growing.
• High temperature is also destructive: at 30-40 degree heat, fruits slow down in development and overheat root system, the ovaries stop forming.
• Sudden temperature changes during the day. The real stress for cucumbers is daytime temperatures above 30 degrees, and night temperatures 10-20 degrees. It is difficult for a heated plant to adapt to such conditions; it begins to get sick, drops flowers and ovaries, and leaves turn yellow.

The optimal and comfortable temperature for full growth, development and formation of healthy ovaries is considered to be:

• at night 15-17 degrees;
• on a sunny day up to 25 degrees;
• on cloudy days 20-22 degrees.

To mitigate temperature changes, mulching the soil between plantings helps. This way the earth warms up less and retains moisture better. On hot days, a layer of chopped grass protects the roots from drying out. In the greenhouse during high temperatures is being organized forced ventilation. When it gets cold, heaters are installed or bottles with hot water.

Lack of minerals

Lack of nutrients provokes diseases, cucumbers turn yellow and fall off. Mineral deficiency can be determined by appearance leaves:

• the lower foliage dies, and the edges of the upper leaves turn yellow - a lack of zinc;
• the appearance of darker veins and spots on the leaves yellow color– it is necessary to feed with iron;
• thin, weakened, light green vines, and dull yellowed leaves indicate a lack of nitrogen;
• clear yellow spots on green leaves - there is not enough potassium.

When planting cucumbers in the same place, the soil is depleted and the plant does not have enough nutrients for full development. Excessive watering helps to leach valuable minerals from the soil. Therefore, it is recommended to provide the missing elements in a timely manner. The solution is regular fertilizing with organic or mineral fertilizers and abundant watering. For example:

• Three tbsp are diluted in 10 liters of water. spoons of wood ash and one tablespoon of urea. Water each bush with the solution no more than 2 times a month.
• Dry furnace ash is used to enrich it with minerals. It is scattered into the beds at the rate of 3 cups per square meter.
• To replenish nitrogen, it is recommended to apply dissolved cow, horse or poultry manure.
• From complex fertilizers, the soil is restored with the preparations “Kemira”, “Rastvorin”, “Master”. Fertilizers from them are prepared in strict accordance with the instructions.

A large number of ovaries

Hybrid cucumbers can produce a lot of female fruit. A large number of fruits require a lot of nutrition, and if the ovaries of cucumbers dry out, it means that there are few nutrients in the soil. When the plant does not have enough nutrition for new fruits, it begins to shed newly formed embryos. To solve this problem, you need to either additionally feed the bushes or remove excess ovaries.

Improper watering

Lack of moisture or improper watering regime can cause yellowing of cucumbers and falling off of the ovaries. Pay attention to the water used for irrigation. Irrigation should be carried out only with warm water heated in barrels or containers in the sun. Because of cold water The roots become overcooled and the plant begins to get sick. Recommended watering schedule:

• Before flowers appear, cucumbers are watered once or twice a week, at the rate of 3-4 liters of water per square meter.
• In the absence of direct sunlight, on a cloudy day, watering during the day is allowed. On sunny days - only morning or evening irrigation.
• In greenhouses and greenhouses after watering, it is necessary to ventilate the space, avoiding high humidity.
• When the first ovaries appear, the soil needs to be dried so that more female inflorescences appear. For several days, stop watering the bushes and watch the plant.
• During the period of active flowering and fruiting, it is recommended to increase water consumption. Water every other day with 6-10 liters of water per square meter.

Damaged cucumber vines slow down in development and yield decreases. Pests attack weakened plants and suck out the juices on the leaves and stems. To make a diagnosis yourself, you should carefully examine the plant:

• When brown oily spots appear on the leaves, which dry out over time, bacteriosis is detected. This disease is possible due to high humidity air, can lead to complete drying of the bush.
• If there are signs on the trunk near the soil surface brown spots, the leaves have wilted, and the stems have turned yellow and darkened - this is root rot.
• In dense plantings, with a lack of fresh air arises fungal mold.
• The appearance of yellow or white spots on the leaves is a viral mosaic.
• If there are small watery spots on the leaves, yellowed ovaries are found on the vines - this is cladosporiosis.
• The appearance of green or gray insects clinging to the stems is aphids.
• Found under the leaves small insects in the form of dots, and there is a cobweb on the plant - this is a spider mite.

It is better to prevent all these problems, to prevent the development of diseases through prevention.

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