Cucumber root system: structure, hilling and loosening

One of the types of vegetable care is hilling and loosening. But you need to know whether it is necessary to spud cucumbers and whether it is possible to loosen the plants in the beds. Cucumbers came to us from the tropical rainforests of India, where the soil is rich in humus, and the air is humid and hot. Hence the weakness of the root system of the vegetable, because food and moisture are always nearby, it is not necessary to extract it from the soil. And now the cucumber does not differ in the power of the roots. But how to increase the plant's intake of food and moisture from the soil, if not loosening.

What is the root system of a cucumber, the right care for it

To get rich crops of a vegetable, you need to know the structural features of its root system. Indeed, thanks to her, cucumbers get acceptable conditions for vegetation, they have enough air, food, and water.

The root of the plant is one and a half percent of the total mass. It extends to a depth of no more than forty centimeters. Lateral processes are located five centimeters from the surface of the earth. It is easy to damage the tender roots, and they recover from seven to ten days, delaying the growth of the cucumber. Helps them gain strength:

80 percent soil moisture;
content of nutrient organic and mineral substances in the soil;
neutral soil acidity with a pH value of six to seven:
moderate concentration of s alts in the soil.

An excellent vegetable product is obtained by observing the rules for caring for cucumbers.

How to properly care for a plant in the open field

Requirements for caring for the root system of a vegetable consist of the following provisions:

Ample watering will allow the roots to get more moisture. The amount of watering depends on the air temperature. In hot summers, cucumbers in the open field need to be moistened in the morning and evening. Reduce the frequency of watering at the beginning of flowering vegetables. Then more female flowers will form. Water is taken warm, using a bucket of liquid per square meter.
The plants are fed with a solution of mullein, first in a ratio of 1:8, so as not to cause burns, and then - 1:4. Mineral fertilizers are made up of ammonium nitrate in fifteen grams, superphosphate - forty, potassium chloride - ten. When the cucumbers begin to bear fruit, the roots are doubled in nutrition. Feed the vegetable every seven to ten days.
To form additional roots, cucumbers are placed at a distance of twenty to thirty centimeters from each other. The vegetable will have enough nutrition when additional feeding is organized.
Pinching the tops of the main stem leads to the fact that the growth processes are delayed, but the appearance of lateral lashes of the second and third order. The resulting branches have more female flowers than male flowers.
To strengthen the plant, remove the color that forms in the lower axils of the leaves.

Proper care of the root system of cucumbers allows you to double the yield of a vegetable.

Growing in a greenhouse

Greenhouse cucumber required for vegetation:

abundant watering;
fertilization;
spraying foliage with nutrient solutions once a month;
pinching varietal cucumbers;
increasing carbon dioxide levels in the greenhouse;
pollination of plants by insects.

Greenhouse watering depends on the room temperature. Water once or twice in spring and summer, and every three days in autumn. At the same time, the water is heated, bringing it to a temperature of 25 degrees.

On hot days, the foliage is sprayed with warm water. The root system of the cucumber will be stronger if the room temperature is kept at 25-29 degrees, and the humidity is not higher than 85 percent.

They pinch the main shoot of cucumbers at the level of the seventh - ninth leaf, and the first-order shoot that appeared from the axil of the first true leaf - at the level of the fifth or sixth. The main whip must be pinched when it reaches the top of the trellis.

In greenhouse conditions, cucumbers are artificially pollinated by taking a male flower and combining it with female anthers. To attract insects to the greenhouse for pollination of cucumbers, containers with sweet water are placed.

If you need to increase the level of carbon dioxide, then heaps of mullein or barrels of liquid manure are laid out between the cucumbers.

Thanks to the organization of competent care, the root system of the plant is strengthened, new roots are formed, and the cucumber bush is updated.

How to loosen cucumbers

Although the roots of the plant are located close to the surface, but to increase the permeability of the soil, it is necessary to loosen it. After frequent watering, heavy rains, the soil is so compacted that moisture does not penetrate deep into and does not nourish the cucumbers. And here it is necessary to loosen the upper layers of the soil. Carry out the procedure carefully, trying not to damage the delicate roots. The best way to do this is to use a rake, cutting the area around the bush.

In order for organic and mineral substances to penetrate to the roots, solutions are applied when loosening the soil according to the scheme: first, the soil is made permeable, loose with a tool, and then watered with fertilizers diluted in a bucket of water.

After the loosening procedure, watering will be better. Water does not leave, but easily penetrates through loose soil layers to the root system of cucumbers. It is best to organize drip irrigation or grooves for this. The soil near the cucumber bushes will be better moistened, and the fruits will set faster.

Loose cucumbers as needed, combined with weeding ridges.

Is it necessary to spud a vegetable in a greenhouse

The structure of the plant's root suggests that cucumbers do not spud, that this is a useless exercise.

But it's not. Hilling cucumbers in a greenhouse is a prerequisite for a good harvest:

The plants in the greenhouse are watered along the grooves. If you moisten the plant under the root, then it will begin to rot. Before watering along the rows, the cucumbers are spudded, creating earthen ridges on the surface. Moisture will nourish the leaves and stems of the plant.
As it grows, the roots of the vegetable are exposed. Therefore, they regularly sprinkle the ground, making hilling cucumbers.
Prolong the fruiting of the vegetable, creating conditions to form a new root system. As soon as white tubercles with rudiments of roots appear on the stems below, they begin to spud.
Another way to rejuvenate cucumbers. A rough bare stem grows old, does not give new roots. He is lowered to the ground, rolled up into a ring. After lying on the ground for a week, it begins to take root. To increase the length of the roots, the stems are spudded, sprinkled with earth.

Cucumber shoots will actively develop if they:

watering;
fed with organic matter and minerals;
create a comfortable temperature in the greenhouse at 23-25 degrees Celsius;
increase humidity up to 80 percent.

New leaves that have appeared, lashes of cucumbers will begin to grow and produce crops of greens. After all, the old sheets will already die, having lived 44 days.

How to save cucumber roots from diseases

Due to the small depth of the roots of cucumbers, they are affected by pathogenic fungi. Determine fungal infection by:

brown spotting and streaks on the roots;
growth of the root collar;
formation of a decaying interception at the bottom of the stem;
withering and deformation of the leaves;
spots on leaf blades.

Root rot of cucumbers spreads through infected seeds, soil. It provokes the disease by watering the plant with cold water, waterlogging of the soil, and sudden changes in temperature. Excessive application of nitrogenous fertilizers also leads to the development of infection in cucumbers.

Since the pathogens of fungal diseases live in the ground, the loosening and hilling of cucumbers is carried out in order to destroy pathogenic microorganisms. During the procedure, a week before planting the seeds of cucumbers, the ground spilled with boiling water or a solution of potassium permanganate. When the first symptoms of diseases appear, the vegetable plantings are treated with fungicides. The disease will not appear on cucumbers if:

disinfect seeds before planting:
feed plants in time;
treat the greenhouse before planting a vegetable;
monitor the growing conditions of the vegetable;
avoid crowded plantings.

Since many fungal diseases of cucumbers occur due to the lack of air in the soil, loosening will correct the situation. Moisture and nutrition in loose soil will reach from the roots to the leaves and ovaries of cucumbers faster than in dense soil. Therefore, it is necessary to spud the plant when the cucumber is in the state of a seedling. Loosening the soil will not allow the development of pathogenic fungi, and they will die.