What to do with barren flowers on cucumbers in a greenhouse and how to prevent their appearance

Sometimes it happens that, bypassing cucumber plantings, gardeners notice a huge number of flowers on them, but in the end, most of the alleged ovaries never turn into long-awaited cucumbers. Such flowers are called barren flowers.

What to do with barren flowers on greenhouse cucumbers, what are its causes and how to prevent such a phenomenon? About this - in our article.

What is a wasteland

Cucumbers have two types of flowers.: female (pistil) and male (staminate). Ovaries, and later on the fruits themselves, are formed only on fertilized female flowers. Male flowers, as well as non-pollinated female ones, are called barren flowers. Therefore, gardeners sound the alarm when they notice bushes with barren flowers: they will not be able to get a bountiful harvest from them.

For optimal and natural development the plant should have approximately equal male and female flowers. If there are only one or the other on the plant, pollination will not occur.

Seeing the abundance of barren flowers on cucumbers in your greenhouse, don't give up. There are many ways to fix the situation. But before taking any measures, it is necessary to determine the reason for their formation.

Reasons for the appearance of barren flowers on cucumbers

Why are there so many barren flowers on cucumbers? What am I doing wrong? - gardeners who are faced with a problem ask themselves. Reasons for the formation of barren flowers on cucumbers in a greenhouse can be conditionally divided into two groups: wrong choice of seeds and wrong care of the plant.

The main reasons for the appearance of barren flowers:

• poor quality seeds;
• varietal features;
• improper watering;
• small distance between landings;
• improper feeding;
• unsuitable temperature regime;
• improper harvesting;
• pests.

Poor quality seeds

Verified producers will not sell low-quality seeds... But when buying seed or seedlings, for example, in the market from unfamiliar sellers, you may encounter a blank flower.

If you decide to harvest seeds from your crop yourself, be aware that not all fruits yield high-quality planting material... Unsuitable seeds produce plants with a large number of barren flowers, irregular fruit shapes, or any disease.

Young seeds can also cause barren flowers.... The seed material for cucumbers remains viable for several years. Last year's seeds are not yet ready to give a good harvest - on such plants, male flowers will significantly prevail.

Varietal features

The wrong choice of variety can lead to barren flowers. for planting. Cucumbers, among other things, differ in the type of flowering. There are plants of the male type of flowering, that is, with a predominance of male flowers on the bush, and the female type - with a predominance of female flowers.

By choosing cucumbers prone to male flowering, don't expect a bountiful harvest. The cucumber will look beautiful in the garden or in the greenhouse - with a lot of large yellow flowers, but the greens will not form from them. This means that the plant will not be able to fully fulfill its main function - fruiting.

Important! Pay attention to the method of pollination of the selected plants.For cultivation in a greenhouse, cucumber varieties, pollination of which occurs with the help of insects, are not suitable.

Improper watering

Both excessive and insufficient watering of the plant can lead to the appearance of barren flowers.

Over-watering leads to vigorous plant growth - its stems and leaves - and the formation of a large number of large yellow flowers, but, alas, male. They will not bear fruit. Drought also adversely affects the culture. Without enough moisture, the plant can die.

It is important to pay attention to the composition and temperature of the water.which you water the cucumbers in the greenhouse. The high content of salt impurities in the water from the hose worsens the formation of ovaries on cucumbers. Watering plants with cold or ice water leads to the formation of barren flowers and is a danger to the roots.

Small distance between landings

In pursuit of a bountiful harvest, gardeners often try plant as many plants as possible in a limited area. Because of the tightness, cucumbers grow slowly, suffer from a lack of moisture and light.

With a dense planting barren flowers are formed on plants and only occasionally female flowers. But due to the small distance between plantings, pollination may not occur, and you will not get the expected harvest.

It can be useful:

What to do if cucumber seedlings turn yellow

Why cucumbers are bitter, how to prevent it

Incorrect feeding

The appearance of barren flowers on cucumbers and the growth of the green mass of the plant can lead not only to excessive watering, but also overfeeding the crop with nitrogen-containing fertilizers... If you continue to feed the cucumber with nitrogen during flowering, it will not please you with a bountiful harvest.

Important! Both lack and excess of nutrients can lead to barren flowers on cucumbers in the greenhouse.

Unsuitable temperature conditions

So that as many ovaries as possible appear on the cucumber, monitor not only the temperature of the water for irrigation, but also the air temperature in the greenhouse. Cucumbers are adversely affected by both low and too high air temperatures.

Cucumber is a southern plant, so it is not used to the cold. At air temperatures below 15 ° C, female flowers on the culture cease to form, there is a high risk of barren flowers.

Plant propagation at temperatures above 27 ° C also not possible. At high air temperatures, the pollen of male flowers cannot fertilize female flowers, so greens are not tied.

Wrong harvest

Surprisingly, even by harvesting, you can influence the formation of barren flowers on cucumbers. Plucking ripe fruits from a bush, you can accidentally harm it. If the whip is damaged during harvesting, the plant may die.

If you pick the fruit too rarely, waiting for overgrown cucumbers, the plant simply will not have the strength to form new ovaries. In this case, all nutrients will go into the growth of already existing zelents.

Pests

In addition to the wrong choice of seeds and improper plant care pest attacks lead to the appearance of barren flowers... If you notice that mainly male flowers are formed on your cucumbers and the bush is not going to bear fruit, although you follow all the recommendations for caring for the plant, check it for insects and ticks.

Noticing on the leaves and stem of the plant yellow spots, dark spots, cobwebs or the pests themselves, urgently take measures to combat them.

The main enemy of the cucumber is spider mite... Signs of its appearance: light spots on the leaves, cobwebs, a slowdown in the growth of the bush, and later on, yellowing of the leaves and wilting of the plant. This pest multiplies at a tremendous speed, so you need to fight it immediately.

To defeat the spider mite (pictured), use folk remedies or acaricides. If these methods of control do not help, urgently remove the infected plant from the greenhouse so that the tick does not have time to move to neighboring healthy bushes.

Another pest that leads to barren flowers on the cucumbers in the greenhouse - ants. They carry away pollen from male flowers, so fertilization slows down, and the amount of harvest decreases sharply. To combat ants, before applying fertilizer, the soil is spilled with boiling water, and a water barrier is created in the greenhouse, for example, a trickle. Through it, ants will not be able to enter your greenhouse and attack plants.

What to do

Mainly from barren flowers on cucumbers in a greenhouse, prevention helps... But some factors of influence can be eliminated already after the appearance of barren flowers.

First checkwhether all of the above reasons for barren flowers are excluded. The easiest way is to check if you are caring for the plant correctly: watering, feeding, temperature, harvesting. It is easy to spot pests and planting density. If everything is in order, the problem is most likely in the seeds.

Ways to deal with barren flowers on cucumbers are divided into agrotechnical techniques and folk methods.

Agrotechnical techniques

Agrotechnical techniques will help, if the reason for the appearance of barren flowers lies in the wrong choice of the variety of cucumbers and in improper care of the plant.

Variety

If you chose the wrong cucumber variety, which requires pollination by insects, which are not in the greenhouse, do not be discouraged. You can use artificial pollination. To do this, pollen from the stamens of male flowers is carefully transferred to the pistils of female flowers with a brush or rubber band.

Watering

If you realized that the reason for the barren flowers lies in the wrong watering plants, it's easy to fix. Normalize the amount of moisture for the bush: water so that the earth has time to dry completely - at this moment female flowers form on the cucumber.

The ideal water for watering cucumbers is rainwater... It contains less salt impurities, which has a positive effect on both the formation of ovaries and the taste of the fruit. Water the plants with water at room temperature. If you water with a hose, do it in the evening, after the water in it heats up in the sun.

Planting density

The distance between plantings should be at least 10-20 cm... If you realize that you have planted cucumbers too thickly, and it is no longer possible to plant them, there are two options:

1. Donate a few bushes to increase the distance between the rest of the plantings.
2. Tear off the leaves from the plants from time to time to reduce the density of the greenery and provide the sun's rays with access to each cucumber.

Top dressing

Suppose everything is in order with the previous points, but there are still empty flowers. Then check the feeding. Cucumbers may be lacking in nutrients, or vice versa, there are too many of them.

Important! Do not fertilize plants with nitrogen during the flowering period. At this time, it is better to feed the cucumbers with potash and phosphorus fertilizers.

Temperature

Now let's move on to air and soil temperatures.... Seedlings of cucumbers are planted in the ground when the soil warms up to 15-16 ° C. If the summer is cold and the air temperature in the greenhouse suddenly drops below 15 ° C, stop watering.

When the heat is above 27-30 ° C, on the contrary, switch to intensive watering 2 times a day. But when growing cucumbers in a greenhouse, try to regulate the temperature to the optimum - 20-25 ° C.

Harvesting

If you got your first harvest, but for some reason the bush refuses to bear fruit further, check if you are picking cucumbers correctly. Harvest ripe fruits every two days. Tear off the cucumbers carefully or cut with a knife to avoid damaging the whip.

Attention! Make sure that the cucumbers do not overripe - harvest at intervals of several days.

Pests

Acaricides will help against spider mites (since this is not an insect, but an arachnid). Infected leaves are cut off and burned, and in case of severe infection with a tick, the entire plant is removed from the greenhouse and also burned outside the site.

From ants to the soil before fertilizing doused with boiling water, a water barrier is erected in the greenhouse, and the soil and the stem of the plant are treated with a remedy for ants approved for use in the beds.

Traditional methods

For a bountiful and healthy harvest plantings are covered with mullein, during flowering - with chicken droppings, during fruiting - with ash.

From spider mites when detected early gardeners use infusions and decoctions of herbs:

1. A decoction of marigolds: pour half a bucket of marigolds with warm water and leave for two days. After that strain the broth and add 40 g of laundry soap. Spray the plants with the resulting solution.
2. Infusion of tomato tops (pictured): soak a kilogram of dry and fresh tomato tops in a bucket of hot water for 4 hours, then add 40 g of soap.
3. Broth hot pepper: boil 100 g of hot pepper in 1 liter of water for 2 hours. Dilute each 150 ml of the broth in a bucket of water, adding 40 g of laundry soap.
4. Dandelion infusion: infuse 25 g of dandelions for 2 hours in a liter of warm water.

Spraying the plant once will not be enough... Spraying is carried out 1-2 times a week for a month, then take a break of 20 days, then repeat the procedure.

Preventive measures

For the prevention of wasteland it is necessary to initially follow all recommendations for caring for cucumbers and constantly check the plantings for pests.

When choosing seeds, give preference to 3-4 year olds... Choose a variety with a predominantly female flowering type, pollinated without the participation of insects. Hybrids are famous for their abundant harvest. Warm up and process seeds before planting.

Experienced Farmer Tips

Give cucumbers a drought during flowering - this stimulates the formation of female flowers. Do not spray on a hot day to avoid sunburn. The optimal time for watering and spraying is before 10:00 in the morning and after 18:00 in the evening.

You cannot loosen the soil at the rhizome: it can damage the root and dry out the soil. Dill saves cucumbers from a large number of diseases and pests. Plant it around cucumber bushes. Buy seeds from a proven agricultural firm.

Traditional methods in pest control are not always effective... Do not neglect chemical and biological preparations in advanced cases, otherwise you may be left without a crop.

Important! When working with chemistry, strictly follow the instructions and do not forget about safety measures.

Conclusion

The barren flowers on cucumber bushes need to be fought in order to get a rich, healthy and tasty harvest. Now you know how to do it. Taking into account the recommendations for choosing seeds, proper plant care and prevention - these effective measures will save you from the appearance of barren flowers.