Kerala agri varsity has bred a new hybrid variety of salad cucumbers. Salad cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is a nutritional ingredient in raw or cooked vegetables served with lunch or dinner. It is a versatile crop for growing either under open condition, shaded situation or protected cultivation under shade-net or poly-house.
While normal cucumber type suitable for growing under open condition produce both male and female flowers, these Parthenocarpic hybrids suitable for growing under poly-houses produce only female flowers and all these flowers develop into fruits without pollination.
However, commercial production of Parthenocarpic cucumber hybrids carried out in the corporate sector through greenhouses has made the seeds dearer to farmers with its price ranging between ₹4 and ₹6 per seed, says T Pradeepkumar, Head of Department of Vegetable Science, Kerala Agricultural University (KAU).
Read more at The Hindu Business Line.