Why barren flowers appear on cucumbers, how to deal with them, what to do
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 is there a lot of barren flowers on cucumbers in the greenhouse
When planting cucumbers, it should be borne in mind 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 vice versa too hot air (more than 30 degrees);
- lack of timely watering or excess moisture;
- the location of the beds in a shaded place;
- use for irrigation of cold water;
- barren flowers on cucumbers are due to insufficient pollination (for greenhouses it is recommended to choose self-pollinated cucumber varieties);
- the reason may be a lack or overabundance of any nutrient in the soil.
Before fighting the 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 it is in them that the stamens are located. You cannot get a rich harvest without them. Therefore, vegetable growers who pluck barren flowers notice that without them, female flowers begin to wither, rot and fall off.
But when there are more barren flowers than female flowers, the threat of a decrease in yield arises. Experienced gardeners advise: “Do not cut off barren flowers, this leads to a decrease in the defenses of the plant. In addition, if there are no male flowers, then pollination will not occur. You just need to pinch the top of the main stem to improve the situation. " Some remove only weak male inflorescences.
You can choose for planting parthenocarpic cucumbers. They are able to form fruits without pollination, only female flowers form 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, Competitor, Masha F1, German F1 or Emelya F1.
Self-pollinated cucumbers are pollinated by themselves, without the participation of insects. These varieties of cucumbers are great for growing in greenhouse conditions or on a windowsill. The flowers of such plants have both a stamen and a pistil, and there are seeds inside the cucumber.
In open beds, it is better to plant bee-pollinated varieties of cucumbers. They show great resistance to adverse weather conditions. To attract pollinating insects, sweet solutions can be used.
If the pollination process is disturbed, barren flowers begin to form on cucumbers, and the yield is significantly reduced.
What to do if empty flowers on cucumbers
The first step to combat the barren cucumber is to change the care and create more favorable conditions for growing crops.
If there is only one barren flower, then it is necessary to carry out weeding in a timely manner, to loosen the soil after each watering, so that oxygen and nutrients in full reach the roots. It is best to make a support and tie up the stem. There are other recommendations on how to get rid of the wasteland.
- If the reason for the formation of male flowers is associated with cold weather, then it is better to cover the beds with a film and suspend watering. Barren flowers on cucumbers in the greenhouse can appear due to the cool temperature below 15 degrees. Therefore, you need to monitor the night and day temperature in the room.
- During hot, without 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 outdoors is only necessary with warm, settled water. At the time when the cucumbers are blooming, watering is reduced. In this case, the plant will direct all its forces to the formation of fruits, and not green tops.
- What to do when there is a blank flower on cucumbers in the greenhouse, 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 fertilizing. You can use nitrophosphate, mullein infusion or wood ash.
- If the cucumbers have empty flowers due to the lack of pollination, then you can help the plant in this. To do this, it is enough to lightly shake the stem during flowering or draw 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 the cucumber beds with a boric acid solution. Foliar treatment helps to strengthen the underground and aboveground 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 the female and male inflorescences look like? Distinguishing a male flower from a female inflorescence is easy. 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 empty cucumber flowers, whether it is necessary to remove, prevention
Even before planting 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 barren flowers alone.
- It is imperative to select only large and dense seeds for sowing. Carry out treatment with potassium permanganate or boric acid.
- Popular practice advises that it is imperative to carry out the drying procedure for the selected seeds. Cucumber seeds contain a lot of protein and if fresh seeds are sown, the plant will fatten, grow rapidly, 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 enhance immunity and good growth (Novosil, Zircon, Ecosil). Those gardeners who watered their cucumbers with these means noted high yields, early ripening and a reduced number of barren flowers.
- You need to plant on plots of land where there is enough sunlight.
- To avoid a large number of male flowers, you need to observe the distance when planting.The distance between the seedlings should be at least 45 cm. Otherwise, foliage and lashes will prevent the flow of air and light to all parts of the plant.
- Barren flowers on cucumbers are formed with improper feeding. Abundant application of nitrogen fertilizers leads to a lack of potassium and phosphorus. Therefore, you should alternate between different fertilizers. First, you can feed it with an infusion of chicken manure or mullein, and during fruiting it is useful to add superphosphate or wood ash.
- Advice from the agronomist: “Female flowers are mainly found on the lateral branches of the plant, so it is important to carry out the pinching of the main stem in time. For many years we have been fighting the barren flowers in this way ”.
- Harvest during the period of mass ripening of fruits, should be every other day. If they are left on lashes, they will quickly outgrow, and the ovaries will lag behind in their growth and development.
If there are many barren flowers in cucumbers, and what to do is not known, 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 pollination of plants. What to do in this case? To save the cucumber beds from the scorching sun, you need to make a canopy and be sure to mulch the soil. An additional layer of straw, crushed grass, peat will keep moisture inside and protect the root system from drying out.
