By George Boyhan
University of Georgia
Many of the vegetables we grow and eat rely on insects for
pollination. Cucumbers are among these vegetables, along with
squash, cantaloupe, watermelon and others.
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If the part of the vegetable plant we harvest is the fruit,
there’s a good chance insects are needed for pollination.
One exception would be sweet corn. With corn, we eat the fruit
(the ear), but these are pollinated by the wind. That’s why sweet
corn should be planted in blocks of four to five rows so there’s
enough pollen for pollination. A single row of sweet corn will
have very poor pollination.
Insects must visit most flowers several times for the fruit to
develop properly. Watermelon and cucumber plants will often have
bottlenecked fruit if pollination is incomplete.
Insects critical
For proper pollination, insects are critical. In the past, we’ve
relied on honeybees for pollination. But wild honeybees are hard
to find these days because of mites that parasitize the colonies.
Beekeepers are able to treat the bees for these problems, but
wild bee colonies die out during the winter because these
parasites have weakened them.
Some cucumbers are truly seedless. These are usually grown in
greenhouses and are often seen in supermarkets as long, slender
cucumbers wrapped in plastic.
This type of cucumber can develop without pollination. But
because it has a very tender skin, it’s not grown outdoors. If it
were grown near seeded cucumbers it would be pollinated and
develop seed. In this case, that’s not what you want to happen.
Two cukes
Two broad groups of cucumbers are grown in gardens. One is the
slicing type, which is eaten fresh. They have a slightly thicker
skin and should have a fresh, light taste.
Pickling cucumbers are generally more warty, with a thin skin
that allows it to take in the brine and vinegar solutions used in
pickling. These cukes are usually shorter than slicers and look
stubby in some cases. Both types are available as seed and
seedlings for your garden.
For these types of cucumbers and similar vegetables, there’s not
much you can do about the lack of honeybees in home gardens. You
can, however, encourage other pollinating insects to visit your
garden. Keep a ready supply of nectar-producing flowers and
shrubs.
Don’t use insecticides when these insects are present. Usually,
most pollination occurs in the morning and during sunny days. If
you’re going to use them, follow label directions. And use them
later in the day or on overcast days, when pollinating insects
are less likely to be around.
(George Boyhan is a Cooperative Extension horticulturist with
the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences.)
