Influence of cultivation techniques and use of two nutritive solution with different electrical conductivity on the production and quality of cucumbers

The most suitable techniques and use of F1 hybrids enable greenhouse production to achieve high yields, with crops all year round. In Sicily, greenhouse production of cucumber is for fresh use (slicers), producing large fruit. The cultivation technique most suited to greenhouses is the vertical single stem. However, an innovative technique being proposed is of cultivation on a trellis, eliminating lower branches, and training the remaining branches upwards (vertical shoot positioning, VSP). Cucumbers in the south of Italy are grown as the main crop or as a catch crop between 2 main crops. The crop should be rotated on the same soil only after 3-4 years with another crop, unless the land is thoroughly weeded, which is usually prohibitively expensive. One alternative to soil decontamination is hydroponic culture, which produces high yields and high quality. The cucumber has substantial nutritional requirements, but an excess of N can provoke a significant accumulation of nitrates, which in particular conditions (long storage periods, heat, and acidic pH) can transform into nitrites which are harmful to humans. This research therefore set out to investigate the possibility of cucumber cultivation using VSP and modifying the electrical conductivity of the nutrition solution from 1.5 mS/cm to 2,5 mS/cm, starting from the same mother solution. This test shows that VSP cultivation and the use of nutrition solutions with high levels of electric conductivity can produce greater yields and gourds with nitrate content lower than the max quantity permitted.