Why cucumbers in the greenhouse became bitter. Why are cucumbers bitter? What to do? cause

Cucumber beds in the summer cottage always occupy the most fertile and lighted areas, and the fruits enjoy the well-deserved love of gardeners. How nice it is to pick greens from the garden and, cut in half, crunch with a juicy cucumber. But sometimes the taste of cucumber brings disappointment - it is bitter.

The causes of bitterness in cucumbers and how to avoid its accumulation in vegetables will be discussed in this article.

Why cucumbers are bitter - reasons

Cucumber is a capricious culture and requires constant attention. It comes from the tropical forests of India, where it is warm and humid, therefore, in the conditions of summer cottages, especially in open ground, it requires appropriate conditions.

If there is a violation of the rules of agricultural technology, then the plant gets into a stressful situation and begins to actively produce a substance - cucurbitacin - aimed at reducing stress. In the fruits of cucumbers, it usually accumulates in the peel and in its lower part, near the stalk.

So what are the main causes of cucumber bitterness? There may be several.

1. seed material. Bitterness is inherited, and if the seeds were taken from a bitter fruit, then the next season's harvest will be bitter. Therefore, the gardener should be aware that the seeds should be taken from the upper half of the fruit, and the rest should simply be thrown away.
2. Underwatering or overwatering. You should monitor the soil moisture in the cucumber bed and regulate the water supply under the plants depending on weather conditions.
3. Hot weather and dry air. Prolonged exposure to direct sunlight during the day also leads to the production and accumulation of cucurbitacin in cucumbers. Therefore, it is recommended to place beds with vegetables between the wings of corn. Its tall stems will protect cucumbers from the scorching midday heat.
4. Nutrient deficiency can cause the appearance of bitter cucumbers in the garden. Throughout the growing season, cucumbers require nitrogen and potassium.
5. Insufficient air humidity on hot days should be compensated by spraying the foliage with a spray bottle.
6. Water for irrigation should be warm and settled. Cucumbers do not tolerate the content of sodium and chlorine in water. Suffer from excess iron and calcium.

Attention! Pouring cold water on hot ground will provoke a stressful situation due to temperature differences and, as a result, will cause active production of cucurbitacin.

If a gardener has been preparing a warm bed for planting cucumbers since autumn, then in spring cucumbers will need shelter. The frame of the arcs and the covering material will keep the heat in the greenhouse, which is formed due to the decomposition of organic matter, and balance the temperature of the earth and the surrounding air.

It is somewhat easier to maintain optimal conditions of humidity and temperature in greenhouses. Here they are protected from sudden changes in temperature, from gusts of wind and from rainy weather, but bitter cucumbers are still found in the greenhouse.

For cucumbers grown in a greenhouse, the following factors are characteristic, which negatively affect the taste.

1. Watering, as well as in open ground, should be done with warm water.
2. top dressing should be given in small portions, starting from the appearance of the cotyledons and ending with the fruiting period. The main elements are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
3. Ventilation of the greenhouse is a prerequisite for a healthy crop of cucumbers. However, it should be remembered that the window should be opened only when the difference between the outside temperature and the temperature inside the greenhouse becomes minimal. Otherwise, the influx of cold air will cause plant stress, and the cucumbers will be bitter.
4. Maintaining an optimal microclimate for a given crop in a greenhouse. The temperature in closed ground at the initial stage of development of cucumbers should be in the range of 20-22˚С. During the fruiting period, the indication mark should not be lower than 28 ° C.
5. Greenhouse lighting plays a very important role and directly affects the quantity and quality of the crop. It is better if the light is diffused, without direct sunlight. Excess hot sun also activates the production of cucurbitacin, hence cucumbers will be bitter. Therefore, windows in glass greenhouses are whitened or covered with a special film.
6. Damage to cucumber vines during the fruiting period can affect the quality of the crop.

Greenhouse space is limited and plants often lack space. The lashes are intertwined, broken and damaged by inaccurate harvesting. For greenhouse cucumbers, this is the cause of bitterness.

1. Insufficient humidity level. To maintain the required level of air humidity in the greenhouse, it is necessary to spray the paths and the inner surface of the walls as necessary.

Compliance with these rules will allow the gardener to grow juicy, crispy cucumbers without bitterness.

Breeders came to the aid of gardeners. To date, there are many varieties that lack the gene responsible for the production of cucurbitacin. Among them are:

• April
• numb
• Claudia
• Courage
• spring
• Othello
• Shchedryk
• Tom Thumb
• Grasshopper

It would seem that cucumbers were grown in compliance with all the rules of agricultural technology, but the harvest is bitter. If the fruits are intended for fresh consumption, then they can be soaked in cold water for 12 hours, and if salt is added to the water, the soaking time is halved.

Since cucurbitacin accumulates in the skin and at the bottom, it can be simply peeled and eaten. You can "pull" cucurbitacin from cucumber. To do this, cut off its lower part and actively rub the parts of the cucumber against each other. Foam forms at the cut point, and cucurbitacin leaves the cucumber with it. The cucumber stops burning.

Do not be upset about bitterness if cucumbers with bitterness are intended for pickling and canning

It should be noted that cucurbitacin breaks down during heat treatment, and bitterness disappears completely. In winter, having opened a jar with a blank, the gardener will not distinguish which one was with bitter cucumbers.

Many people believe that eating bitter cucumber can be harmful to health. However, the answer to this question is diametrically opposed. The bitterness in cucumbers, cucurbitacin, has healing properties. Namely:

• painkillers
• anti-inflammatory
• anti-cancer
• choleretic

The bitterness of cucumber stimulates the work of the gallbladder, which leads to the outflow of bile.

There is an opinion that cucumbers with bitterness contribute to weight loss. This happens due to the saponins contained in them, and special lipids that can lower blood sugar levels.

Cucurbitacin also inhibits the growth of abnormal cells, making it a potential anti-cancer agent.

It is known that cucumbers with bitterness are specially grown in China. They serve as the basis for the manufacture of medicines.

Why cucumbers are bitter and how to fix it: video

But no matter how useful bitter cucumbers are, the gardener wants to grow delicious vegetables on his plot. And compliance with the above rules will allow you to get a generous harvest of cucumbers without bitterness.

Sometimes bitter greens grow on the beds. They also give an unpleasant aftertaste to the dishes they are included in. Why cucumbers are bitter and what to do in such cases is described in this article.

Why are cucumbers bitter?

All pumpkin plants, including cucumbers, produce the glycoside cucurbitacin. It is found in the aerial parts of the plant, but its presence in the fruits is small. It is this glycoside that gives bitterness to cucumbers. When the culture is under stress, the content of cucurbitacin in greens increases dramatically. This is a defensive reaction of the culture that prevents animals from eating the fruits and allows the seeds to ripen.

Cucurbitacin itself has a number of useful properties:

• has an antitumor effect;
• has an analgesic effect;
• has anti-inflammatory activity;
• enhances the secretion of bile in the body;
• increases appetite;
• bitter cucumbers promote weight loss.

The highest amount of cucurbitacin is found in fresh gherkins. With the growth of Zelentsov, the glycoside content in them gradually decreases. The substance is destroyed during processing, so there is no bitterness in pickled and pickled cucumbers.

Bee-pollinated varieties of cucumbers contain a lot of cucurbitacin and are able to synthesize it quickly under unfavorable growth conditions.

Modern hybrids are practically devoid of such shortcomings. Now crop selection is aimed at reducing the content and production of glycoside by plants. Therefore, hybrids are practically not bitter. It is necessary to create conditions for them close to the death of the plant, so that the greens have such a taste.

Causes of Bitter Cucumbers

The appearance of bitter fruits is always the result of extreme situations. Bitterness appears for the following reasons:

1. Sharp fluctuations in temperature.
2. Irrigation with cold water.
3. Prolonged cold weather.
4. Uneven watering of cucumbers.
5. Very hot weather and low humidity.
6. Direct sun for more than 14 hours a day.
7. In varieties, seeds were obtained from the end where the peduncle (tail) was.
8. Thick shadow.
9. Lack of supplements.

There used to be some varieties that accumulated cucurbitacin even under normal conditions. Now they can only meet with an amateur gardener.

1 reason. Sharp fluctuations in temperature

This is a factor that a person cannot influence. It is only possible to mitigate the consequences to some extent, when bitterness in cucumbers accumulate less, but it is impossible to completely prevent the synthesis of cucurbitacin under such conditions.

What can be done

Very strong temperature fluctuations provoke an increase in the formation of cucurbitacin and its accumulation in cucumbers. When the temperature becomes even, there will be no bitter cucumbers.

2 reason. Prolonged cold weather

Another factor that cannot be controlled. With a prolonged cold snap, plants go into survival mode. They strive to give seeds as quickly as possible. Bitterness begins to accumulate intensively in greens, which only increases with growth.

What to do

1. Processing cucumbers with growth stimulants Epin-extra or Zircon. They strongly stimulate plants and help to survive the cold period with minimal losses.
2. Be sure to water with organic fertilizers.
3. Cover the cucumbers with covering material. If it is very cold, then the plants are additionally covered with hay.

Despite all the measures taken, there will still be a slight bitterness in cucumbers in such weather.

3 reason. Irrigation with cold water

Cold water in cucumbers causes many problems. And spoiled taste is not the most difficult of them, although rather unpleasant.

Cucumber does not tolerate cold weather or cold water. The culture is always watered only with warm settled water. Water temperature for irrigation should be at least 20-22°C. It is defended in greenhouses. In extreme cases, plants are watered from a kettle with water at room temperature.

4 reason. Uneven watering

Improper watering causes severe stress in cucumbers, which leads to increased synthesis of cucurbitacin and, as a result, the appearance of bitter cucumbers.

What to do to correct the situation

If it is impossible to visit the cottage regularly, you need to do drip irrigation for cucumbers or grow them on a hydrogel.

5 reason. Very hot weather and low humidity

Cucumbers are native to India, where they naturally grow under tree canopies in a humid subtropical climate. In dachas, especially in the south, plants often suffer from too dry air.

To humidify the air in the borage, sprinkling is carried out. This is always done in the early morning, so that the water has time to dry before the onset of heat. Otherwise, the leaves may get burned. Sprinkling is not carried out in the evening, because at night the cucumbers emit moisture droplets and the humidity in the borage increases sharply, and this can lead to the appearance of diseases.

6 reason. direct sun

Cucumbers. Unlike many other plants, direct sun harms them. Under such conditions, plants begin to accumulate cucurbitacin, greens become bitter, and the plant itself quickly completes the growing season.

For plants, 4-5 consecutive sunny days are enough for a significant amount of cucurbitacin to accumulate in greenery. Therefore, when grown in sunny places, plants are shaded with agrofiber or mosquito net.

7 reason. thick shadow

Culture requires diffused light, but not a thick shadow. In full shade, it will either not bear fruit at all, or will produce a small amount of bitter greens.

8 reason. Wrong receipt of seed

If the seeds were taken from the end where the stalk (tail) was, then the plants grown from them can produce bitter cucumbers. This trait is inherited. The glycoside accumulates most of all in the upper part of the fetus. Its content decreases towards the middle of the greenery, and at the nose (where the flower was) disappears.

Therefore, if the seeds were taken incorrectly, nothing can be corrected, the cucumbers will be bitter. It remains only to salt the entire crop.

9 reason. Lack of top dressing

Cucumbers are often bitter due to a lack of nutrients. Hybrids in such conditions will not bear fruit at all, and varieties will give a small amount of small underdeveloped greens with an unpleasant taste. If there is top dressing, but there is not enough nutrition, then the greens also begin to taste bitter. The amount of cucurbitacin in them depends on mineral starvation: the stronger it is, the more bitter greens.

What to do and how to fix the situation

1. If cucumbers have grown with bitterness, then this cannot be corrected. So that the next harvest has a good taste, culture. Most of all, she needs nitrogen, so they make top dressing either with manure infusion (1:10), or with chicken manure infusion (1:20), or with herbal fertilizer infusion (1:10). Pig manure cannot be used as top dressing, it strongly acidifies the soil and leads the plants to death.
2. In addition to nitrogen, cucumbers require a lot of potassium and magnesium. Therefore, organic matter is alternated with mineral fertilizers. The most suitable for the culture of fertilizers are Kalimag, Kristallon cucumber.
3. Top dressing is carried out regularly. If the culture was not fed at all, then after the first application of fertilizers there will be an effect: the quantity and quality of the crop will increase, and the taste will noticeably improve.
4. Be sure to alternate root and foliar dressings.

Root top dressing is done after watering the plants.

It's such a shame when a good harvest of cucumbers is harvested, but the fruits from the side of the "butts" are very bitter. A pair of such cucumbers can spoil the taste of a complex vegetable salad, which has spent quite a few valuable ingredients.

Cause of bitterness

Cucumbers are bitter due to cucurbitacin, which is more actively produced in plants that are regularly in stressful situations. The substance is deposited to a greater extent in the region of the stalks and in the peel.

Many summer residents complain that by taking agrotechnical actions aimed at reducing bitterness, it does not disappear anywhere over the years. Indeed, in a number of varieties, characteristic bitterness can be inherited. That is, if you take seeds from a bitter cucumber, then next season the harvest will be bitter. Partially, the situation can be corrected if seeds are selected only from the upper part of the fruit, which is not bitter. Hence the first rule - do not collect seeds from bitter cucumbers, it is better to buy new ones in bags, on which the inscription "genetically without bitterness" is indicated.

But even an initially good variety without bitterness can be ruined so that the ripened fruits will be very bitter. The reason for this may be:

1. Cucumber lashes are in constant sun (in direct sunlight).
2. Insufficient watering, the land around remains overdried for a long time.
3. Low air humidity.
4. Decreased daytime and especially nighttime temperatures, sharp temperature fluctuations.
5. As a rule, more bitter cucumbers grow in heavy, poorly fertilized clay soils.
6. Regular watering of beds with cold water leads to bitterness.

What to do with bitter cucumbers?

Even if you have harvested bitter cucumbers, do not rush to get upset. Yes, there will be a problem with salads, but bitterness will not affect winter preparations. This applies primarily to classical salting, since cucurbitacin is destroyed during heat treatment. In lightly salted freshly salted cucumbers, bitterness will remain.

Soaking the harvested crop in cold water for 12 hours will help reduce bitterness somewhat. Also, when preparing salads, cut off the “ass” and peel.

It is worth noting that bitterness in itself is not harmful and, on the contrary, is useful. In the course of scientific experiments, scientists from a joint US-Chinese project managed to prove that cucurbitacins inhibit the growth of cancer cells in the human body.

At the moment, geneticists are trying to develop 2 specific varieties of cucumber that, due to bitterness, will not be eaten, but they will be important as sources of cucurbitacins.

So cucumber bitterness is rather useful, but can you give it up?

Delicate heat-loving plants require a lot of patience and work, so it's a shame when the crop turns out to be bitter. The same mistakes in growing cucumbers result in a bitter taste.

For a long time, scientists could not explain why cucumbers become bitter. Some blamed the soil, others attributed the bitterness to certain varieties. Still others argued that excessive watering was to blame.

It turned out that there is truth in all assumptions. Cucumbers and other plants from the pumpkin family, under certain conditions, produce cucurbitacin, an organic compound from the group of saponins. It gives bitterness to fruits.

The production of cucurbitacin is a way to protect plants from adverse environmental conditions. Cucurbitacin increases the germination and germination rate of seeds, increases resistance to stress, affecting the composition of pigments involved in photosynthesis.

The substance is synthesized in the leaves and transported to all parts of plants, massively accumulating in the roots. Cucurbitacin is produced even in mushrooms and in marine molluscs.

Cucurbitacin has beneficial properties. It has antitumor, anti-inflammatory and anthelmintic effects. It is used in alternative medicine. In China, gastrointestinal diseases are treated with bitter cucumbers, specially growing tasteless fruits.

The fruits of wild cucumbers, still growing in India, are inedible due to the high content of cucurbitacins.

The degree of bitterness of fruits depends on sunlight, soil moisture and air. To understand what environmental factors can affect the taste of fruits, you need to know how cucumbers grow in natural conditions, that is, in the tropics of India.

In a tropical rainforest, there is almost no sunlight, but a lot of moisture. The temperature does not change throughout the day and cucumbers do not experience a nighttime drop in temperature.

Deviation from the conditions is a strong stress for the plant. To increase resistance to adverse factors, the cucumber produces cucurbitacin, which gives a bitter taste to the fruit, concentrating in the peel and at the stalk.

Experienced gardeners know that the quality of the soil affects the taste of the fruit. Too dense or sandy soil is another reason for the appearance of bitter cucumbers in the beds. A few sunny and hot days are enough, and cucumbers in the open field begin to taste bitter, especially if they grow on the “wrong” soil or they were not watered on time.

In a greenhouse, the reason for the bitterness of cucumbers is insufficient moisture. The soil needs to be watered without waiting for it to dry out.

At the beginning of the season, in early spring, bitter cucumbers in the greenhouse may appear due to night cooling. Do not forget to close the windows and transoms of the greenhouse at night. If it is not possible to turn on the heating in the evening, try doing it in natural ways. Place a 200-liter metal barrel of water in the greenhouse. On a sunny day, the water will heat up, and at night it will slowly cool down, warming the greenhouse.

Signs of bitter cucumbers

Signs of bitterness in fruits are hollowness and increased diameter. A bitter fruit will be wider than a fruit of the same variety, but sweet. More often black-thorned varieties are bitter, less often - white-thorned.

You can find out before the formation of the ovaries whether the first cucumbers will be sweet or bitter. Cucurbitacin is produced in the leaves. Chew a leaf and you will understand how the plants feel. If there is bitterness in the leaves, change the temperature and humidity.

Cucumbers are watered with warm water and only in warm weather, and they must be fed several times during the season. For top dressing, you can not use fresh manure, the fruits from it will be bitter.

Is it possible to eat bitter cucumbers

Bitter fruits can be safely eaten. If the bitter taste does not suit you, you can get rid of it by cutting off the peel and the part of the fruit where the stalk grows.

By cutting and peeling a cucumber, you will get rid of not only bitterness, but also a large number of useful vitamins. In order not to reduce the usefulness of the fruit, get rid of cucurbitacin in a different way. The substance dissolves in water and breaks down when heated. Bitter fruits can be soaked for several hours in plain water or salted. They can also be marinated - after heat treatment, bitterness will not remain in the greens.

Probably all gardeners have come across such an unpleasant surprise as bitter cucumbers. This happens quite often. Of course, such cucumbers can be eaten by peeling them off, but then you will be left without vitamins and minerals, because it is the peel that contains most of them. So what to do, and why are cucumbers bitter? In the greenhouse or in the garden, they grew up - it does not matter. In this article, we will talk about the causes of this phenomenon and how to eliminate it, as well as talk about how to care for greenhouse cucumbers to avoid a bitter taste.

What people say

There are different opinions among amateur gardeners on this matter, and they all contain a grain of truth. Someone believes that the composition of the soil is to blame. Someone thinks that cucumbers lack nutrients or water, and some are sure that it depends on the variety.

What Science Says

From a scientific point of view, there is also an explanation. It has been proven that the cause of the bitterness of cucumbers is a substance that accumulates in the peel. It's called cucurbitacin. Moreover, the brighter the sun shines, the more cucurbitacin accumulates, and the bitterer the cucumbers become. This is also a scientifically proven fact. But in a greenhouse, because there is no sun there? It turns out that improper care is also the cause of the bitterness of this vegetable, and in the greenhouse all the necessary conditions are not always met.

Proper care - delicious cucumbers

From the point of view of agricultural technology, in order to get a rich crop of cucumbers in a greenhouse, they need to be watered correctly, fertilized on time, monitor the temperature, and most importantly, do not stress the plant.

In order not to be tormented by the question of why cucumbers are bitter, follow the following recommendations in the greenhouse:

Water abundantly and only with warm water. At an early age of growth, do this 2 times a week, and during the flowering period - every day. If the air is not sufficiently humidified, then you can sprinkle on the walls and paths. It is advisable to water when the sun is shining outside, but leave the windows closed.

In the greenhouse, the land is depleted faster than on the street, so cucumbers need to be fed more often. Once a week, use liquid mineral fertilizers, potash, calcium, nitrogen (but not manure).

The temperature in the greenhouse should be at least 20 degrees during the day and 18 degrees at night (before fruiting), and in the future it needs to be raised to 28. Sudden changes in it are stressful, this can make cucumbers bitter. It is better if the greenhouse is heated.

When forming a bush, you need to know how this process is especially important in a greenhouse, as it allows you to increase productivity and limit the branching of the plant. To do this, remove the lateral processes, female flowers and antennae. They only delay the development of the bush and take away the nutrients that are so necessary for the growing season.

Breeders, who are also concerned about why cucumbers are bitter in the greenhouse, have developed lettuce varieties that contain a special gene that prevents the production of cucurbitacins. Well, if you still failed to avoid bitterness, then you should not be very upset, since such cucumbers are suitable for pickling. During heat treatment, the bitter taste will disappear.