There are several reasons why there are a lot of barren flowers on cucumbers. And many of them are associated with improper plant care. To avoid abundant flowering without the formation of ovaries, you need to know how to prevent this.
Why are there a lot of barren flowers on cucumbers in the greenhouse?
When planting cucumbers, it should be taken into account that each variety needs certain conditions of care and cultivation. Why cucumbers do not form ovaries well and numerous barren flowers appear on the branches depends on many factors:
- planting low-quality seeds;
- too dense sowing of seedlings;
- lack of heat (below 15 degrees) or, conversely, too hot air (more than 30 degrees);
- lack of timely watering or excess moisture;
- location of the beds in a shaded place;
- use for cold water irrigation;
- barren flowers on cucumbers are due to insufficient pollination (for greenhouses it is recommended to choose self-pollinating cucumber varieties);
- the reason may be a deficiency or excess of any nutrient in the soil.
Before fighting barren flowers, it is important to understand whether the plant needs them and, if so, why. Barren flowers (male flowers) are necessary for the plant for pollination, since they contain the stamens. Without them it is impossible to get a rich harvest. Therefore, vegetable growers who pick empty flowers notice that without them, female flowers begin to wither, rot and fall off.
But when there are more empty flowers than female flowers, there is a threat of a decrease in yield. Experienced gardeners advise: “Do not pick off empty flowers, this leads to a decrease in the plant’s defenses. In addition, if there are no male flowers, then pollination will not occur. Just pinch the top of the main stem to improve the situation.” Some only remove weak male inflorescences.
You can choose parthenocarpic varieties of cucumbers for planting. They are able to form fruits without pollination; only female flowers are formed on the bushes, and there are no seeds in the fruits. These varieties are especially suitable for growing in regions with unfavorable climates. The most popular varieties include: Zozulya, Konkurent, Masha F1, German F1 or Emelya F1.
Self-pollinating cucumbers pollinate themselves, without the participation of insects. These varieties of cucumbers are perfect for growing in greenhouse conditions or on a windowsill.The flowers of such plants have both a stamen and a pistil, and inside the cucumber there are seeds.
It is better to plant bee-pollinated varieties of cucumbers in open beds. They show great resistance to adverse weather conditions. To attract pollinating insects, you can use sweet solutions.
If the pollination process is disrupted, barren flowers begin to form on cucumbers, and the yield is significantly reduced.
What to do if there is a barren flower on cucumbers
The first step to combat cucumber barren flowering is to change care and create more favorable conditions for growing the crop.
If there is only one barren flower, then it is necessary to carry out weeding in a timely manner, loosen the soil after each watering so that oxygen and nutrients reach the roots in full. It is best to make a support and tie the stem. There are other recommendations on how to get rid of barren flowers.
- If the reason for the formation of male flowers is associated with cold weather, then it is better to cover the beds with film and stop watering. Barren flowers on cucumbers in a greenhouse may appear due to cool temperatures below 15 degrees. Therefore, you need to monitor the night and day temperatures in the room.
- During hot, non-rainy weather, the frequency of watering should be increased to twice a day, in the morning and evening hours.
- Watering cucumbers in a greenhouse and in open ground should only be done with warm, settled water. When cucumbers are blooming, reduce watering. In this case, the plant will direct all its forces to the formation of fruits, and not green tops.
- What to do when cucumbers in a greenhouse have barren flowers, there is another proven option. If the cucumbers are densely planted, you can limit the frequency of watering and pinch the main stem.
- If there is not a single ovary, you need to think about applying fertilizers.You can use nitrophoska, mullein infusion or wood ash.
- If cucumbers have empty flowers due to lack of pollination, then you can help the plant with this. To do this, just shake the stem slightly during flowering or run a brush first over the barren flower and then over the female flowers.
- To increase the number of ovaries, you can prepare solutions based on drugs such as Ovary, Bud.
- You can treat cucumber beds with a solution of boric acid. Foliar treatment helps strengthen the underground and above-ground parts of the plant, and also helps to increase the number of ovaries. It is enough to dissolve 5 g of boric acid in 10 liters of water.
What do female and male inflorescences look like? It is easy to distinguish a male flower from a female inflorescence. The female inflorescence is identified by the cucumber on which the flower has blossomed, and it has only one pistil. The male flower has five stamens.
How to deal with barren flowers of cucumbers, whether they need to be removed, prevention
Even before planting the seedlings in a permanent place, care must be taken to ensure that there are no more barren flowers than female flowers.
- You need to buy seeds only from a trusted manufacturer. Seeds 3-4 years old are suitable for sowing. Plants grown from young seeds often produce only barren flowers.
- It is imperative to select only large and dense seeds for sowing. Treat with potassium permanganate or boric acid.
- Traditional practice advises that it is imperative to carry out the procedure of drying the selected seeds. Cucumber seeds contain a lot of protein, and if you sow the seeds fresh, the plant will fatten, grow quickly, but not bear fruit.With prolonged heating (it is useful to keep the seeds near the battery for about 1.5 months), the protein loses its activity.
- It is useful to treat seeds with solutions that promote increased immunity and good growth (Novosil, Zircon, Ecosil). Those gardeners who watered their cucumbers with these products noted a high yield, early ripening and a reduced number of barren flowers.
- You need to plant on areas of land that receive enough sunlight.
- To avoid large numbers of male flowers, you need to maintain a distance when planting. The distance between seedlings should be at least 45 cm. Otherwise, foliage and vines will prevent the flow of air and light to all parts of the plant.
- Barren flowers on cucumbers form due to improper feeding. Excessive application of nitrogen fertilizers leads to a lack of potassium and phosphorus. Therefore, you should alternate different fertilizers. At first, you can feed with an infusion of chicken manure or mullein, and during fruiting it is useful to add superphosphate or wood ash.
- Advice from an agronomist: “Female flowers mainly appear on the side branches of the plant, so it is important to carry out the procedure of pinching the main stem in time. We have been fighting barren flowers using this method for many years.”
- Harvesting during the period of mass ripening of fruits should be done every other day. If they are left on the vines, they will quickly outgrow, and the ovaries will lag behind in their growth and development.
If a lot of barren flowers appear on cucumbers, and you don’t know what to do, fertilizers will help. To prevent barren flowers from appearing before the flowering period, you can feed the cucumbers with mullein or chicken droppings. During flowering, it is useful to water the beds with a mixture of potassium sulfate, superphosphate, mullein and wood ash.
High air temperatures, more than 27 degrees, prevent plant pollination. What to do in this case? To save cucumber beds from the scorching sun, you need to make a canopy and be sure to mulch the soil. An additional layer of straw, chopped grass, and peat will help retain moisture inside and protect the root system from drying out.
