It’s nice to replenish the vitamins with a crispy cucumber after a frosty winter and no less long spring. You can experience special pride if this vegetable
DIY grown. However, very often the joy of summer residents can be spoiled - the cucumber does not live up to expectations, its flesh is far from being called sweet. In such a situation, the question always arises: "Why are the cucumbers bitter?"
The causes of bitterness
In fact, the reason for the appearance of bitterness in these vegetables is the same: the presence of the substance cucurbitacin, which gives the vegetable an unpleasant taste. This substance has historically been called to scare away insect pests. Thanks to this, the plants had the opportunity for the complete ripening of seeds, and, therefore, full reproduction.
Usually cucurbititacin predominates in young fruits. Today, breeders have ensured that in modern hybrids there is a minimal amount of such a substance, and therefore bitterness was manifested to a lesser extent. The presence of a gene called bi in the cucumber ensures the absence of bitterness. At the same time, outwardly it is impossible to distinguish the bitter cucumbers and plants on which they ripen from their sweet counterparts.
The main reason why cucumbers are bitter is understandable. However, this property can manifest itself to varying degrees.
The following factors can lead to the summer resident finding that he is bitter
cucumbers:
- Abundant direct exposure to the sun.
- Not enough watering.
- Excessive or insufficient humidity.
- Overheating of the plant in hot, dry weather.
- Wrong balance of fertilizers (especially potash and phosphorus).
- Plant diseases.
Also, the reason why cucumbers are bitter can be a sharp difference in day and night air temperatures.
How to prevent bitterness
Homeland cucumbers - rainforests in southeast Asia. The climate is warm and humid, there is no direct sunlight. At home, cucumbers climb trees. It is important to create similar conditions for the plant, then the question of why the cucumbers are bitter simply does not arise.
It is necessary to water the cucumbers in the evening with warm water so that the soil is completely moistened. On hot and dry days, sprinkling is additionally carried out. A watering can with small holes is suitable for these purposes. Such watering helps to wash off dust from leaves, create favorable humidity. At the same time, the plant absorbs moisture through the leaves and shoots. Good watering is especially important during the formation of the ovary.
It is advisable to observe the temperature regime. Ideally, this is about 28 degrees during the day and 16 at night. With a sharp cooling, cucumbers should be covered. In addition, with the appearance of bitterness in cucumbers, they should be fed with nitrogen-potassium fertilizers: best of all with complex or potassium nitrate. In order not to raise the question of why cucumbers are bitter, hybrid varieties resistant to the appearance of cucurbitacin can be grown. However, even if bitter cucumbers appear on the bed, you should not be upset. Such vegetables should be peeled immediately after harvest and cut off their tails. Cucumbers that are bitter can be used for salting, since cucurbitacin is destroyed during the conservation process, and the bitterness goes away.
Despite the fact that cucurbititacin can spoil the taste of cucumber, the substance is useful. It has antitumor properties. Therefore, one should not strive to grow varieties in which it is absent. It is much better to create optimal conditions for plants, observing the agricultural technology of cultivation.