Night temperature and fruiting of glasshouse cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.).
Cucumber seedlings, cv. Farbio, planted in the greenhouse on 13 or 27 December or 10 or 24 January, were grown at 21-27 deg C day temperature and 12, 16 or 20 deg night temperatures until 1 April. Later planting produced more fruit than early planting. Night temperature had only a slight effect on fruit numbers/stem, but there was an optimum near 16 deg . The rate of fruit production between 12 and 20 deg was similar, but increased slightly with later planting. Production started earlier with higher night temperature and later planting. Fruit growth was not affected markedly by night temperature and fruit weight at harvest increased with season but was not dependent on the treatments. Fruit length was also independent of night temperature or planting date. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)