Cucumber and Gherkins Technical print the page Introduction Cucumbers popularly known in India as 'khira' and gherkins are part of the cucurbits variety of crops extensively grown in tropics, subtropics and milder temperate zones of India mainly as a salad crop. It is being grown in the country for almost 4000 years and is eaten raw, pickled or cooked. At present there are about 20 units in the country producing and exporting gherkins in India. In 1998-99, the production of gherkins in India was about 40,000 tonnes. Gherkins, is one of the crops in India which are cultivated exclusively for exports as their consumption within the country is almost nil. The main importers of fresh or chilled gherkins from India are Belgium, Spain and USA; preserved gherkins Belgium, France, Spain and USA; and prepared/preserved gherkins USA, Belgium, Canada, France, the Netherlands, Spain and UK. However, market analysts suggest that India's exports of gherkins have now reached a plateau with no scope for further increase in the export demand. The market for gherkins is mainly confined to the US and Europe only. In USA, the total market for gherkins is estimated at 5.00 lakh tonnes. Of this 3.80 lakh tonnes is produced within the country and the rest is imported. In Europe Indian gherkins have-some market in Spain and Belgium. A number of varieties like Poona khira (a small-size pale-green fruit cultivated in western Maharashtra), Balam khira (cultivated in Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh); and the Darjeeling and Sikkim varieties (grown in hills of North Bengal) have become very popular. Sheetal, Pusa Sanjog and Priya are some of the varieties developed by Indian researchers.   Varietal Improvement According to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research the following resistant varieties in cucumber have been developed Disease and insect-pest-resistant cucumber varieties Crop Variety Source Resistance Recommended ecology Cucumber Poinsette NSC Resistant to powdery mildew and downy mildew Northern and Southern Region   Swarna Poorna CHES, Ranchi Tolerant to powdery mildew Ranchi, Bihar   DVRM 1 IARI, New Delhi Resistant to cucumber green-mottled mosaic virus   Cucumber IIHR 177-1 IIHR, Bangalore Multiple-disease resistance to powdery mildew + downy mildew + alternaria   Hybrid varieties Crop Variety Source Recommended ecology Cucumber Pusa Sanyog IARI, New Delhi Katrain   Disease and Pest Management Powdery mildew, downy, mildew, anthracnose, alternaria blight and fusarium wilt are serious fungal diseases of cucumbers. Aphid-transmitted cucumber mosaic virus damages the crop to a great extent. Powdery mildew and anthracnose can be effectively controlled by Bavistin (0.1%) or Calixin (0.05%), whereas downy mildew can be controlled effectively with Dithane Z-78 (0.3%) and Ridomil (0.2%). Seed treatment with Bavistin (0.2%) checks Botryodiploida, Macrophomina phaseolina and Fusarium sp infection in cucurbit seeds. Rovoral and Brassicol (0.2%) give good control of Rhizoctonia solani and Sclerotium rolfsii in infected seeds of cucurbits. Hotwater treatment (50°C for 45 min) reduces the incidences of cucumber mosaic virus of squash to 3.3%. Neem-seed-kernel extract (0.4%) in combination with Dimecron (0.05%) effectively controls the incidence of thrips and aphids.