Growing guide
How to grow cucumbers
Quick open-field summer crop — and Haryana’s favourite polyhouse crop with seedless hybrids.
At a glance
- Planting window
- Open field: February–March and June–July · Polyhouse: August–September and January–February
- Duration
- 60–90 days (open field)
- Climate
- 20–30 °C
- Soil
- Sandy loam rich in organic matter; pH 6–7.5
- Water need
- Moderate · about 400–500 mm a season
- Seed
- Open field about 1–1.5 kg per acre
- Spacing
- 150 × 60 cm
- Yield
- Open field 40–60 quintals per acre; polyhouse hybrids several times more per season.
What to do, and when
Dates assume planting around 25 Sep. Change the plan to shift them.
- Day 0 — Sow: 2–3 seeds per hill.
- Days 20–30 — Train vines: Trellis doubles clean fruit.
- Months 2–3 — Fruit fly traps: From flowering.
- Months 1–3 — Pick every 2 days: Before seeds harden.
Varieties to consider
Buy certified seed or planting material from an authorised source.
- Pusa Uday — IARI open-field variety.
- Parthenocarpic hybrids — Seedless types for polyhouses — no bees needed.
Water
- Every 4–5 days in summer.
- Never let it go short at: Flowering · Fruit growth
- Drip irrigation suits this crop.
Nutrition
Polyhouse crops are fed daily through drip.
- Dose: Open field: about 100 kg N, 50 kg P₂O₅, 50 kg K₂O per hectare
- Sowing: all P, K and half N.
- Vining: remaining N.
Pests and diseases to watch
Prevent first; spray only when needed, with a product registered for the crop, at label dose.
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Yield and economics
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- Price: Indicative farm-gate price (₹12/kg), open field
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What would you like to do next?
Where these numbers come from
- ICAR / state university general recommendation A typical range for irrigated conditions. Your soil test decides the final dose.
- Common grower practice in north India Widely followed by farmers; confirm with your KVK for your block.
- Agriculture Novel indicative estimate A planning number, not a quote. Replace it with your own costs and your mandi’s price.
