Cucumber farming involves the cultivation of cucumbers with the aim of harvesting and marketing the cucumber fruits for consumption or for sales to the public. Cucumber farming starts from soil preparation to the marketing of the harvested cucumber fruits.

Climatic Conditions for cucumber farming

Cucumbers can do well in tropical environments like Nigeria. Cucumbers do well under sun especially when there is enough water for its growth. Cucumbers can be cultivated in all areas in Nigeria.
The climatic conditions in southern Nigeria and northern Nigeria favour the cultivation of cucumbers. Even in the near temperate conditions of Plateau State, Obudu and Mambilla Plateau, cucumbers can be cultivated.
Cucumber plants can survive in temperatures between 15- 40 Celsius, though the optimum growth temperature is about 25 Celsius. Cucumber plants will not do well in very cold or very hot climates. Too hot temperature can lead to flower abortion in cucumber plants, flower abortion can significantly reduce yield in cucumber plants.

Land preparation for Cucumber Farming

Cucumbers can grow well in all the types of soil present in Nigeria. Be it loamy, clay or sandy soil, cucumber plants will thrive well under all these types of soil. If your soil is too acidic or it has a lot of alkaline, your cucumber yields will not be optimal.
If you want to cultivate cucumbers in the rain forest belt of Nigeria, especially if your farmland is virgin, you will need to use bulldozers to take off the trees and other types of vegetation on the farmland. Extreme care should be exercised so that the top soil will not be removed. If the top soil is removed, the cucumber plants will not do well at all.
In the savannah areas in Nigeria, land preparation is fairly easy as there are little or no trees. Tractors and even cows can be used to plough and harrow farmlands in the savannah belt of Nigeria. Land preparation in the savannah belt is far cheaper than the rain forest belt of the country.
After the removal of trees, stumps and vegetation on farmlands, plough can be done. For some types of soil, plough can be done twice. After ploughing, you will need to harrow the farmland. It is advisable to apply a lot of farm yard manure or chicken manure on your soil when doing land preparation for cucumber farming. Nematicides can also be added to the soil if the soil is infected with nematodes. Ridging can also be done after harrowing of the land.

Fertilisation in Cucumber Farming

The first process in adding fertilisers or nutrients to your cucumber plants is to do a soil analysis or test. A soil test will reveal the types and levels of nutrients in your soil. This will guide you as to the type of fertilisers or nutrients to use for your cucumber plants.
. Farm yard manure or chicken manure should be applied to your soil in good quantity. Manures can improve the structure of your soil whilst also providing nutrients to the crops cultivated on the soil. They also help in the retention of water and nutrients. 1-6 tonnes of chicken manure can be added to one hectare farmland before planting your cucumber seeds. Please apply manure as per the instructions of your agronomist or soil scientist.
Base dressing of fertilisers should be done after the application of manure. Fertilisers like NPK, Diammonium Phosphate (DAP), Single Super Phosphate (SSP) fertilizer, calcium nitrate and calmag etc can be used for the base dressing of soil. Cucumber plants need more of phosphorus at its initial stage, hence the suggestion for the use of high phosphatic fertilisers at the initial stage of planting.
After the application of a high phosphatic fertilizer at the initial stage of planting, a fertilizer with a high content of nitrogen should be used during the vegetative stage. Nitrogen increases the leaf mass of plants, when leaves are big, they capture more sunlight for photosynthesis, this can increase the yield of crops. Calcium fertilisers are also good for disease prevention. They help in improving the quality of the fruits of plants. Calcium nitrate and calmag are especially very useful in cucumber farming.
During flowering and fruiting, fertilisers with a high content of potassium and calcium should be used for cucumber plants. Fertilisers like potassium nitrate and potassium sulphate can improve the quality of flowers and fruits. Potassium nitrate can also make cucumber plants tolerate stress like inadequate water, excessive heat and excessive cold.

Weed Control in Cucumber Farming

Plastic mulch can be used on your cucumber farm to prevent the growth of weeds. Plastic mulch can also help in conserving water and the fertilisers applied to your cucumber farm.
Weeding can be done by hand with the use of hoes, cutlasses and rakes. Weeders in form of brush cutters and other machine like weeders can also be used.
Some people use herbicides in the controlling of weeds in cucumber farming. I do not advise the use of herbicides as they contribute to the reduction in yields in cucumber farming, despite the fact that they help in controlling weeds.
Do not allow any weeds on your cucumber farm; weeds can reduce your cucumber crop yield by as much as 98%. Good plough and harrowing can bury weeds and their seeds.

Pest Control in Cucumber Farming

Cucumber plants attract a lot of pests and diseases. As a matter of fact, most cucumber farmers start seeing insects and other pests on their cucumber plants with a few days of planting.
Pests that attract cucumber plants include thrips, aphids, insects, beetles, grasshoppers, fruit borers, whiteflies and nematodes etc. Not well cured manures can bring a lot of pests to your farm. For example, wet manure can introduce cut worms to your farm. Cut worms damage cucumber plants by cutting the seedlings at the stem level.
A cucumber farmer should ensure that the manure he wants to apply on his farmland is well cured and free of pests. Biopesticides and microbial innoculants can be added to the manure to speed up decomposition and to attack any pests in it. Neem cake can also be mixed to the manure.
To control pests like insects, fruit borers, aphids, mites and thrips on cucumber plants, good insecticides can be used. You should not use one type of insecticide all the time, this can lead to resistance issue. Neem oil added with soap can also be used for pest control; this is good for organic farmers.

Cucumber Harvest

Harvesting in cucumber plants start from 38-45 days especially if the variety is hybrid. Hybrid cucumbers variety lasts longer than the open pollinated varieties especially if stored in a cool and dry place.
Cucumbers are ready for harvest when they are big and still green in colour. Cucumber fruits left for too long on the plant will change in colour. Discolored cucumber fruits are not marketable. A cucumber farmer should ensure that his cucumber fruits are harvested on time.

Yield of cucumber