Grower Han van der Helm is a gutsy grower who is not afraid to grow differently than others and who dares to follow his own vision. He’s also not afraid to test new cucumber varieties. After earlier tests he set a thousand Dubai plants in his greenhouse last year. The result of that large experiment was such that Han decided to go for Dubai completely with the next summer production. Han: "The main reason to choose Dubai is that it is resistant against Pythium, Fusarium and other fungi. We had these in the greenhouse, but Dubai held up, where the breed I was growing then lost up to 20%."
Dubai is De Ruiter’s newest cucumber breed. For a long time it seemed quiet at De Ruiter in cucumber, but behind the scenes they were working hard to develop new varieties. A number of breeds are now in the final testing phase and will be launched officially later. Dubai, the new cucumber for summer and autumn cultivation, has already been presented. The breed has tested positively for the past two years and in the meantime is already commercially available at several growers in the Netherlands.
Production is also a reason for Han to go with Dubai. "The production of this new breed was significantly better than the rest of the greenhouse, both in quantity and in average fruit weight. And weighing between 350 and 500 grams Dubai still fits nicely into the boxes. I estimate that we’ve harvested about 80 cucumbers per square meter. A great result."
Generative cultivation
Nutrition
www.deruiterseeds.nl
"I've always been a generative grower. That’s precisely why Dubai is a good variety for me: it has to be grown generatively. As long as you grow generatively, the crop doesn’t grow too full. Dubai makes its vines very easily so you have to steer properly. But if you do it right you don’t get vines that are too long. This may result in Dubai giving some extra work in the fall but it more than makes up for it in production." Han steers generatively particularly by keeping the CO2 high. He uses 19 degrees during the pre-night, a latter night temperature of 20 and on the day temperature between 27 and 28 degrees. “Dubai reacts well to this,” according to Han, "but you have to keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t take off. Dubai sets very easily so with less light you shouldn’t be afraid to cut a lot of leaf."
"A breed like Dubai needs its nutrients. We give the plants strong doses. In terms of EC, we're between 3.2 and 3.6 – never lower. Incidentally, Dubai doesn’t differ much from other breeds in potassium."
Shape and color
Han is also very pleased with the cucumbers themselves: "When you harvest a good (mature) cucumber its shelf life is good. That’s why I have complete confidence in Dubai. The color and shape are tight. Beautiful cucumbers with a nice green color."
For more information:
De Ruiter Seedswww.deruiterseeds.nl
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