Every year, Russian breeders present new varieties of the most promising horticultural crops. One of the new products was the appearance in the field of gardening of a hybrid called St. Petersburg Express F1. Today, a plant from the Biotekhnika brand is included in the state register of vegetable crops intended for cultivation on personal plots and on farms in greenhouse conditions.
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The hybrid belongs to a variety of indeterminate crops and requires pollination. The advantage of the species is its resistance to most cucumber diseases:
- powdery mildew;
- bacteriosis;
- root rot.
The first fruit ripens 48 days after germination. From 1 to 3 ovaries are formed in one node, the type of flowering is female.The leaves have a rich dark green color, the surface of the leaf blade is slightly wrinkled. With high bush heights, the plant is distinguished by insignificant branching and a small amount of green mass, which greatly facilitates care.
A distinctive quality of the hybrid is its ability to withstand low temperatures and quickly recover from stress. At the same time, during a short-term cold snap, the growth and formation of the plant does not slow down, which is a significant drawback of a significant part of cucumber varieties.
Features of fruiting
Cucumbers have a cylindrical shape with a slightly ribbed surface. On the peel of vegetables there are medium-sized tubercles with black spikes. The average cucumber has the following characteristics:
- weight 82 grams;
- length 12 cm;
- diameter 3 cm.
Up to 12.5 kg of cucumbers are harvested from each square meter, subject to the recommendations on agricultural cultivation techniques. Description of the advantages of the new selection variety:
- early fruit ripening;
- high yield;
- smooth, almost identical fruits;
- resistance to cucumber diseases.
Reviews from gardeners about the Petersburg Express f1 cucumber indicate the good taste of cucumbers, the possibility of using them fresh and as a raw material for canning. In rare cases, bitterness of fruits may occur, the cause of which is the onset of a sharp cold snap or insufficient watering.
Recommendations for cultivation
The Petersburg Express variety is recommended for greenhouse cultivation. It is permissible to grow by seedlings or by directly planting seeds in the ground.Regardless of the growing method, it is important to select high-quality, full-bodied seeds without defects.
To enhance the protective properties of cucumbers, planting material is placed in a solution of aloe and water, prepared at a ratio of 1:1. It is recommended to plant seeds when using the seedling method in early April. To do this, prepare the soil in advance, place it in a container of small diameter and sow planting material to a depth of 0.5 to 1 cm. In this case, the following temperature conditions must be observed:
- during the day - from 20 to 24 ⁰C;
- at night - from 16 to 18 ⁰C.
Sowing in the greenhouse is carried out in the middle or last days of May. It is recommended to cover the planting site with film material or an agrotex-type coating before emergence. The Petersburg Express variety plant needs pollinating insects.
In warm climates, planting in open beds is acceptable. In this case, the following garden crops act as the best predecessors:
- beet;
- onion;
- legumes;
- Solanaceae.
Worth paying attention cucumber planting site. The soil should be loose, as airy as possible, and have a neutral acidity level. Seeds are planted at a distance of 10 cm, burying the planting material into the soil no more than 4 cm. When planting seedlings, it is necessary to ensure that the cotyledon leaves are flush with the soil.
Proper agricultural technology for growing cucumbers requires compliance with the following recommendations:
- the variety has a superficial type of root system, so the top layer of the bed should be as fertile and loose as possible;
- It is considered optimal to use a drip system for watering bushes at least 3 times a week with settled warm water; evening watering is considered preferable;
- stimulation of fruiting is achieved by short-term restriction of watering;
- After the appearance of 5 true leaves, the plant is pinched, which allows redistributing the direction of movement of nutrients to obtain greater yield and extend the fruiting period of the bushes.
The plant is distinguished by its massive yield; to maintain performance, it is recommended to harvest the greens every day. When fertilizing, you should not overdo it with nitrogen-containing fertilizers.
