Gherkin crop manual for vertical outdoor cultivation in the subtropics
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Gherkin Crop manual vertical outdoor subtropic
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This Rijk Zwaan step-by-step manual helps you to grow a good gherkin crop
Transcript of Gherkin crop manual for vertical outdoor cultivation in the subtropics
Vertical outdoor subtropic
At the beginning the gherkin production in India has been conducted with conventional varieties adapted to the European cultivation conditions. But since five years Rijk Zwaan has professionalized the Indian gherkin market with the introduction of new parthenocarpic varieties. Those varieties are not only adapted to the partly difficult production circumstances but are as well conform with the global processor and consumer requirements.The best production system to produce fine-grade, high-value pickles in India is a vertical outdoor system.
Key points to be considered before taking gherkin crops in subtropical condition
Sowing in the right seasonMonsoon is the right season for the gherkin crop to get higher yields: Long duration light hours > 14 hours per day, Moderate day temperatures 25 to 32 degree Celsius, good night temperatures 18 to 23 degree Celsius and intermediate showers will keep the plants active by increasing simultaneously the productivity.
Use of Drip irrigationSaves labor cost and water, boosts the vigor and health of crops, drastically increases yield levels.
Proper crop rotationIt is not advised to grow gherkins year after year on the same piece of land: Farmers have to provide at least a two season’s gap after the first gherkins crop. This helps to get a healthy and vigorous crop, thereby increasing yield levels.
Selection of the right HybridsRijk Zwaan is actively working in India and has intro-duced high yielding and disease resistance hybrids like RZ Chandini or RZ Soorya. An upcoming new hybrid is RZ 12-705.
India started in the year 1991 with the cultivation, processing and export of gherkins. First cultivation areas have been in the Karnataka State in South India. From there cultivation spread to the neigh-boring states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Today around 51 processing and exporting companies are supplying the impressive amount of 225.000 metric tons of gherkins to all major consumer markets worldwide. A local market for gherkins however does not yet exist.
Support system Vertical gherkin production requires a special support system, of which the main components are:
The support system should last for more than 10 years. To maximise the useful life of the support system, please note:• The ends of the poles have to be treated against rot.• Poles must be dug approx. 70cm deep into the ground.• The distance between the poles must be 4.0m.• The direction of the rows must be parallel with the
main wind.• The distance between the rows must be between
1.5m and 2.5m.• Gherkins thrive in high humidity. Therefore wind-
protection should be provided, e.g. by sowing a few rows surrounded by corn.
Agronomy PracticesGherkins prefers well drained fertile soils, with a neutral Ph of around 7. Please be aware that gherkins are quite sensitive to salinity. In a first step bring the soil to a fine granularity by deep ploughing one month in advance before sowing. During ploughing take care as well to apply well decomposed FYM, in a magnitude of 10-12 tonnes per acre, into the furrows-mix well.
Sow a border crop as maize or corn: four rows 15 days before the sowing of the gherkins. Those boarder rows have several functions; (1) they act as wind breaker, (2) they improve the micro climate and (3) they avoid early attacks of sucking pests. Keep a good distance between the gherkin rows, at least 1.2 – 1.5 meters between the rows and keep a distance of 30cm between the plants in a row. Gherkins love good irrigation but an excess of irrigation leads to a blockage of the soil leading to a poor air movement in the soil and a higher chance for rotting diseases.
min.
2mm Ø
1.8m
0.7m
Hardwood poles
Galvanised wires
min.
8cm Ø
Special plastic nets
grid 24 x 24 mm
1.8m wide
1.5-2m
4m
The single row plantingDistances between the wood poles in a row should be 4m.Distance between single rows should be 1,5-2,5m.
1.5-2m
Key sowing periods in subtropical countries for high yieldIndian states: • Karnataka: Sowing should be done in the first two
weeks of May. • Tamil Nadu, Telangana & Andra Pradesh: Sowing
should be done in the first two weeks of December.• Sri Lanka: Sowing should be done in the first two
weeks of May.
Fertilizer Management Gherkin crops are responding to fertilizers very quickly. Quantity recommendations are as follow 100 kg of nitrogen (N), 75 kg of phosphor (P) and 200 kg of potassium (K) should be applied per acre. Apply as well 20 kg per acre of magnesium sulphate (MgSo4) as basal dose at the time of sowing.
The above mentioned N:P:K does should be applied in different doses in dependence of the crop status. Splitting recommendations would be as follow:
• Basal Dose (1-2 week): 20:45:30 N:P:K ratio in kilo/acre.
• Vegetative stage (3-4 week): 20:30:30 N:P:K ratio in kilo/acre.
• Grand growth & fruiting stage (5-7 week): 20:00:60 N:P:K ratio in kilo/acre.
• Fruiting stage ( 8-12 week) 40:00:80 N:P:K ratio in kilo/acre.
Potassium and calcium are playing a key role in increasing the yield levels of gherkins crops. The uptake of potassium and calcium is influenced by the type of nitrogen present in the soil. The ammonium nitrogen form NH4 avoids the uptake of potassium and calcium. Ammonium nitrogen NH4 will cause as well a chloride accumulation in the soil which can lead to a poor respiration.
In addition provide calcium nitrate on a weekly basis at a rate of 10 kilo per acre from week five onwards. At regular intervals spray micro nutrients like, zinc, boron, ferrous or magnesium at a rate of 2-3 grams per litre. Zinc and boron acts as sugar movers. Ferrous and magnesium will improves the leaf and fruits colour.
Healthy crop tipsTo get the most benefit out of the sunlight and thus maximizing the assimilation process, it is recommended to prepare the gherkin rows in an east to west direction. In addition to that keep the gherkin field always free from weeds to make efficient use of the supplied nutrients and also to keep pest and diseases under control. Earth up plants regularly which helps to form a good root spread. It also keeps the weeds under control.
Apply the fertilizer four inches away from the plants and cover it by soil. In addition spray calcium nitrate and potassium nitrate at 3 grams per litre on a weekly basis from week five of the crop onwards.
After 30 days of the crop remove the lower leafs up to 30 centimetre from the bottom of the plants to get rid of old and diseased leafs and to provide good air
circulation to the plants. To control melon flies use 10 pheromone traps across the field. Those traps should be applied at week three of the crop. For an effective control of sucking pests use yellow traps in the field to measure infestation levels. Only use chemicals against pest and diseases recommended by the processing industry field staff.
PestsThrips, aphips, white files & spider mites These are the major sucking pests affecting gherkin crops. Leaf minors can infect crops from up a young seedling stage. Thrips & aphids devastate the gherkin crop if not controlled form early stage on. They are not only causing sucking damage on the plant and fruits but they are acting as well as vectors for the transmission of viruses such as TOSPO, CMV and ZYVMV. Thrips out breaks are occurring more in humid and dry periods, while Aphids love cloudy, humid and wet conditions. White flies, which have a wide host range, occur mainly in wet and humid conditions. Furthermore white flies can act as vector for the transmission of the yellowing virus. Spider mite out breaks occur often in dry conditions. If not controlled well they suck the sap and can collapse the total crop.
Fruits Borer and Melon fly (Fruit fly)Both are causing economical loses in South Indian states. If larva and maggots feed on the fruits they cannot be used anymore for processing. This can lead to huge financial losses due to high fruit wastage. Furthermore if a larva or maggot infestation is not recognized during the processing it can lead to huge claims and product recalls.
Diseases: Downy Mildew (Pseudoperonospora Cubensis) Symptoms are yellow spots which are outlined between the veins. Under rainy and humid conditions the spots are forming a thick black mold layer on the backside of the leaf. In a later stage the spots and finally the whole leaf dries out. High relative humidity’s, standing water droplets on the leafs for more than two hours and temperatures between
14 to 25 degrees Celsius are favouring the disease growth. For effective control avoid dense foliage via foliage thinning and avoid irrigation on the leafs. Take preventive fungicide sprays recommended by the processors field staff.
Gummy Stem blight (Didymella Byooniae)Symptoms are yellow spots on the leaf or edge which later turn brown and dry out. Infected flowers and fruits will turn yellow and fruits will additionally become thin and pointy or they are finally drying out. Soggy rotting appears on fruits if relative humidity prevails. Incidences are observed more often in South India at cloudy and wet conditions which occur often during the months from August to October. Proper leaf pruning and a good air circulation prevents a quick spread of the disease. Use appropriate fungicide treat-ments on a regular basis.
WiltsCaused by:• Pythium & Rhizocotonia: Occurs mostly under colder
weather, as a result of over irrigation on cold & airless soil. It causes light coloured rotting at collar.
• Fusarium: Causes pinching at collar, brownish discolor-ation with rotting or drying out. It occurs mostly under warmer weather conditions.
• Verticillium: it causes continuous tissue decline, plants will wilt and finally die. It occurs mostly in crops developing crops or in fruiting stage.
Preventions of wilts: Ensure a good soil structure for good aeration and satisfactory soil temperatures. Destroy infected residues. Use approved fungicides for treatment as recom-mended by processor field staff.
Our gherkin specialists
Rijk Zwaan’s descriptions, illustrations, growing advices and any other information in whatever form for example on expiry, sowing, planting and harvesting dates are based as precisely as possible on experiences in trials and in practice. However, Rijk Zwaan does not accept in any case liability for damages resulting from the use of such descriptions, illustrations, growing advices and information. The buyer/user itself is responsible for proper storage of the seeds and will be deemed to determine whether the products and growing advices are suitable to be used for the intended cultivations and under the local conditions. Inclusion of a variety in this edition does not automatically imply that such a variety is available for purposes of exploitation; it might be available for testing only. For more information, please contact Rijk Zwaan (www.rijkzwaan.com). The pictures in this edition show the types to which the varieties as mentioned belong and not all varieties as such. These pictures do not constitute any warrranty, expressly or implied, of crop performance.
Crop coordinator international Gerald [email protected]
Specialists according to culture method
Vertical outdoor temperate Hungary Laszlo Ragyak [email protected]
Vertical outdoor subtropicalIndiaPrasanna D.G. [email protected]
Vertical indoorUkraineAndriy Galagurja [email protected]
Flat manualGermany, Austria, Czech Republic Gerald Krischke [email protected]
Flat mechanical USA, CanadaGeorg Pape [email protected]
Further gherkin specialists according to country
Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia Djurdje Spasojevic [email protected]
Brazil Marcelo Sartori [email protected]
Central AsiaNasredin [email protected]
Poland and the Baltic StatesMarcin Pawlak [email protected]
Romania George Puican [email protected]
RussiaGennady Sudenko [email protected]
TurkeyErkut Baç [email protected]
UkraineStanislav Ovcharyk [email protected]
VietnamGerard Hulisz [email protected]
Rijk Zwaan Zaadteelt en Zaadhandel B.V.
P.O.Box 40 | 2678 ZG De Lier | The Netherlands | T +31 174 532 300 | [email protected] | www.rijkzwaan.com
