Gherkin
Crop manual vertical outdoor subtropic
Vertical outdoor subtropic India started in the year 1991 with the cultivation, processing and export of gherkins. First cultivation
Key points to be considered before taking gherkin crops in subtropical condition
areas have been in the Karnataka State in South India. From there cultivation spread to the neigh-
Sowing in the right season
boring states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Monsoon is the right season for the gherkin crop to
Today around 51 processing and exporting
get higher yields: Long duration light hours > 14 hours
companies are supplying the impressive amount
per day, Moderate day temperatures 25 to 32 degree
of 225.000 metric tons of gherkins to all major
Celsius, good night temperatures 18 to 23 degree
consumer markets worldwide. A local market for
Celsius and intermediate showers will keep the plants
gherkins however does not yet exist.
active by increasing simultaneously the productivity. Use of Drip irrigation
At the beginning the gherkin production in India has
Saves labor cost and water, boosts the vigor and health
been conducted with conventional varieties adapted to
of crops, drastically increases yield levels.
the European cultivation conditions. But since five years Rijk Zwaan has professionalized the Indian gherkin
Proper crop rotation
market with the introduction of new parthenocarpic
It is not advised to grow gherkins year after year on the
varieties. Those varieties are not only adapted to the
same piece of land: Farmers have to provide at least a
partly difficult production circumstances but are as
two season’s gap after the first gherkins crop. This helps
well conform with the global processor and consumer
to get a healthy and vigorous crop, thereby increasing
requirements.
yield levels.
The best production system to produce fine-grade, high-value pickles in India is a vertical outdoor system.
Selection of the right Hybrids Rijk Zwaan is actively working in India and has introduced high yielding and disease resistance hybrids like RZ Chandini or RZ Soorya. An upcoming new hybrid is RZ 12-705.
Support system
The support system should last for more than 10 years.
Vertical gherkin production requires a special support
To maximise the useful life of the support system,
system, of which the main components are:
please note: • The ends of the poles have to be treated against rot.
Hardwood
• Poles must be dug approx. 70cm deep into the ground.
Galvanised
poles min. 8cm Ø
wires
• The distance between the poles must be 4.0m.
min.
• The direction of the rows must be parallel with the
2mm Ø
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
1.8m
rows surrounded by corn.
Agronomy Practices Gherkins prefers well drained fertile soils, with a neutral
0.7m
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
Special
before sowing. During ploughing take care as well to
plastic nets
apply well decomposed FYM, in a magnitude of 10-12
grid
tonnes per acre, into the furrows-mix well.
24 x 24 mm 4m
Sow a border crop as maize or corn: four rows 15 days before the sowing of the gherkins. Those boarder rows
1.5-2m
1.5-2m
m
1.8 e
wid
The single row planting Distances between the wood poles in a row should be 4m. Distance between single rows should be 1,5-2,5m.
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.
Key sowing periods in subtropical countries for high yield
Potassium and calcium are playing a key role in increasing the yield levels of gherkins crops. The
Indian states:
uptake of potassium and calcium is influenced by the
• Karnataka: Sowing should be done in the first two
type of nitrogen present in the soil. The ammonium
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
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.
weeks of May.
Fertilizer Management
In addition provide calcium nitrate on a weekly basis at a rate of 10 kilo per acre from week five onwards.
Gherkin crops are responding to fertilizers very quickly.
At regular intervals spray micro nutrients like, zinc,
Quantity recommendations are as follow 100 kg of
boron, ferrous or magnesium at a rate of 2-3 grams per
nitrogen (N), 75 kg of phosphor (P) and 200 kg of
litre. Zinc and boron acts as sugar movers. Ferrous and
potassium (K) should be applied per acre. Apply as
magnesium will improves the leaf and fruits colour.
well 20 kg per acre of magnesium sulphate (MgSo4) as basal dose at the time of sowing.
Healthy crop tips To get the most benefit out of the sunlight and thus
The above mentioned N:P:K does should be applied
maximizing the assimilation process, it is recommended
in different doses in dependence of the crop status.
to prepare the gherkin rows in an east to west direction.
Splitting recommendations would be as follow:
In addition to that keep the gherkin field always free from weeds to make efficient use of the supplied nutrients
• Basal Dose (1-2 week): 20:45:30 N:P:K ratio in kilo/acre. • Vegetative stage (3-4 week):
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.
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.
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.
14 to 25 degrees Celsius are favouring the disease growth.
To control melon flies use 10 pheromone traps across the
For effective control avoid dense foliage via foliage thinning
field. Those traps should be applied at week three of the
and avoid irrigation on the leafs. Take preventive fungicide
crop. For an effective control of sucking pests use yellow
sprays recommended by the processors field staff.
traps in the field to measure infestation levels. Only use chemicals against pest and diseases recommended by the
Gummy Stem blight (Didymella Byooniae)
processing industry field staff.
Symptoms are yellow spots on the leaf or edge which later
Pests
turn brown and dry out. Infected flowers and fruits will turn yellow and fruits will additionally become thin and pointy or
Thrips, aphips, white files & spider mites
they are finally drying out. Soggy rotting appears on fruits
These are the major sucking pests affecting gherkin crops.
if relative humidity prevails. Incidences are observed more
Leaf minors can infect crops from up a young seedling stage.
often in South India at cloudy and wet conditions which
Thrips & aphids devastate the gherkin crop if not controlled
occur often during the months from August to October.
form early stage on. They are not only causing sucking
Proper leaf pruning and a good air circulation prevents a
damage on the plant and fruits but they are acting as well as
quick spread of the disease. Use appropriate fungicide treat-
vectors for the transmission of viruses such as TOSPO, CMV
ments on a regular basis.
and ZYVMV. Thrips out breaks are occurring more in humid and dry periods, while Aphids love cloudy, humid and wet
Wilts
conditions. White flies, which have a wide host range, occur
Caused by:
mainly in wet and humid conditions. Furthermore white flies
• Pythium & Rhizocotonia: Occurs mostly under colder
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.
weather, as a result of over irrigation on cold & airless soil. It causes light coloured rotting at collar. • Fusarium: Causes pinching at collar, brownish discoloration with rotting or drying out. It occurs mostly under warmer weather conditions.
Fruits Borer and Melon fly (Fruit fly)
• Verticillium: it causes continuous tissue decline, plants will
Both are causing economical loses in South Indian states.
wilt and finally die. It occurs mostly in crops developing
If larva and maggots feed on the fruits they cannot be used
crops or in fruiting stage.
anymore for processing. This can lead to huge financial losses due to high fruit wastage. Furthermore if a larva or
Preventions of wilts: Ensure a good soil structure for good
maggot infestation is not recognized during the processing it
aeration and satisfactory soil temperatures. Destroy infected
can lead to huge claims and product recalls.
residues. Use approved fungicides for treatment as recommended by processor field staff.
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
Our gherkin specialists
Specialists according
Further gherkin specialists
to culture method
according to country
Crop coordinator international
Vertical outdoor temperate
Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia
Russia
Gerald Krischke
Hungary
Djurdje Spasojevic
Gennady Sudenko
g.krischke@rijkzwaan.de
Laszlo Ragyak
djurdje.spasojevic@rz-agro.rs
g.sudenko@rijkzwaan.ru
Brazil
Turkey
Vertical outdoor subtropical
Marcelo Sartori
Erkut Baç
India
m.sartori@rijkzwaan.com
erkut.bac@rijkzwaan.com.tr
Central Asia
Ukraine
Nasredin Sharipov
Stanislav Ovcharyk
n.sharipov@rijkzwaan.de
s.ovcharyk@rijkzwaan.ua
Andriy Galagurja
Poland and the Baltic States
Vietnam
a.galaguria@rijkzwaan.ua
Marcin Pawlak
Gerard Hulisz
m.pawlak@rijkzwaan.pl
g.hulisz@rijkzwaan.nl
l.ragyak@rijkzwaan.hu
Prasanna D.G. p.damdahalli@rijkzwaan.com Vertical indoor Ukraine
Flat manual Germany, Austria, Czech
Romania
Republic
George Puican
Gerald Krischke
george.puican@hollandfarming.ro
g.krischke@rijkzwaan.de Flat mechanical USA, Canada Georg Pape g.pape@rijkzwaan.com
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.
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