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Cucumber Cupid was bred by domestic breeders in the Moscow region at the turn of the last century. In 2000, he was listed in the State Register. The hybrid received many positive qualities from its predecessors and over several decades won the recognition of gardeners throughout the country. An early, plentiful and amicable harvest of delicious, beautiful fruits of the Amur is today obtained from Krasnodar and the Crimea to Siberia and the Far East.
Description of cucumber Cupid
Cucumber variety Amur F1 belongs to parthenocarpic crops and does not need pollination. Therefore, it bears fruit well in open, protected ground or as a houseplant.
The bushes of the hybrid are vigorous, the branches are powerful, they develop according to the indeterminate type. When formed on supports, the lashes can easily support the weight of the crop. Early fruiting occurs on the central shoot. The main stem, with the cucumbers being poured, does not stop growing and does not give lateral shoots. After the end of the first wave of the harvest, short determinant shoots appear, on which several "bouquet" ovaries are laid.
Cucumber variety Cupid does not require shaping, pinching, constant tying. The bush is self-regulating and does not grow in breadth. Cupid leaf plates are medium-sized, pubescent, with a classic green color for cucumbers. The edges of the leaves are even.
Description of fruits
Cucumber Amur F1, when characterizing the fruit, is often referred to as gherkins, although it is able to grow very quickly up to 12-15 cm without losing its nutritional value and marketability.
Varietal characteristics of the fruit of the Amur F1 hybrid:
- length - up to 15 cm;
- the weight of an average cucumber is 100 g;
- the form is weakly fusiform, the neck is short;
- the rind is deep green, with light stripes;
- the surface is pubescent, the tubercles on the skin are small, frequent;
- bitterness is absent, taste indicators are high.
The harvested cucumbers do not lose their presentation and taste for several days. Combined with a vigorous return of the fruit, this makes the crop suitable for commercial cultivation. The use of fruits is universal: fresh consumption, cutting into salads, canning, salting. During heat treatment, no emptiness is found inside the Cupid fruits removed in time.
The main characteristics of the variety
According to the characteristics and the official description of the variety, the cucumber Amur F1 is recommended for all regions of the country, subject to cultivation in greenhouses. For the spring-summer turnover in the open air, the hybrid is successfully used in the middle lane, but the full yield is noted only when grown in the south.
Of the characteristic features of the Amur F1 cucumber variety, they note:
- Ability to survive short-term droughts without losing ovaries, which is rare for cucumbers.
- Excellent fruit yield in hot climates as well as in areas with cool summers.
- The F1 marking in the name indicates that the culture is hybrid and it will not be possible to get cucumbers from our own planting material.
- Cupid shows itself well in film greenhouses and heated stationary greenhouses: almost all flowers form ovaries, bushes do not get sick.
The yield of cucumbers Cupid
One of the amazing qualities of the young Amur F1 hybrid is the ultra-early start of fruiting. For 35-40 days after the first shoots, the first cucumbers manage to set and form. In this case, the return of the crop occurs in unison - in whole bunches. In one node, up to 8 size-aligned fruits are formed at the same time.
For commercial cultivation, the hybrid is sown twice with a difference in a month, receiving a massive return of cucumbers without interruptions for more than 60 days in a row.
In the official description, the declared yield of the Amur variety is about 14 kg per 1 sq. m. One plant on average bears 4-5 kg of fruits, taken at the gherkin stage. According to reviews of private producers and large farms, the variety, with proper care, gives up to 25 kg of excellent cucumbers per season. Most of all, the fertility of the Amur F1 bushes is influenced by the nutritional value of the soil and the frequency of watering.
Pest and disease resistance
The hybrid form received the best qualities from the parent varieties, including resistance to olive spot, cucumber mosaic, powdery mildew. The cucumber of the Amur F1 variety is relatively insensitive to fungal infections of the roots and downy mildew.
Spraying with Fitosporin is a good prevention of cucumber diseases. The beds are spilled with the same solution when preparing a site for the Amur variety.
Pests that threaten the planting of cucumbers:
- sprout fly;
- whitefly;
- spider mite;
- nematode;
- aphid.
To combat the infection that has begun, specialized or systemic insecticides are used. Most often, the drugs Aktara, Fufanon, Intravir, Iskra are chosen.
Pros and cons of the variety
The Amur F1 hybrid has a good reputation among experienced vegetable growers and is popular with beginners. The seeds have a high germination capacity, the plants are unpretentious and hardy, and the cucumbers have excellent taste.
Among the advantages of the variety are also noted:
- Cucumbers have an attractive presentation: the same size, dense bright peel, uniformity of shape.
- Rapid growth of green mass and very early fruiting.
- Amicable return of fruits, convenient for the formation of trading parties.
- Long-term transportation without loss of taste.
- No need to form a stem, pinch.
- Adult plants tolerate temporary cold snaps well.
Prolonged fruiting and the ability to get a large harvest are also attributed to the pluses of the hybrid. As a disadvantage, only the exactingness of cucumbers for watering and dressing is distinguished. With improper nutrition or irrigation, even persistent Cupid can lose some of the ovaries.
Growing rules
On open beds or in a greenhouse, the Amur variety can be planted with seedlings or seeds. It is possible to grow cucumbers under the open sky by direct sowing in the southernmost parts of the country. A little closer to the central regions, Amur is already being cultivated through seedlings. The closer to the north, the more urgent becomes early sowing in separate containers with subsequent removal to the greenhouse.
Sowing dates
Amur seeds can be placed in open ground no earlier than the soil warms up to + 15 ° С. For different regions, this period is significantly different.
Approximate dates for planting seeds of the Amur F1 variety:
- in the south, sowing is carried out in early May;
- in the middle lane, the optimum soil temperature is attainable by the end of spring;
- disembarkation for seedlings at home begins in mid-April;
- the removal of young cucumbers into greenhouses or open ground is optimal at night temperatures of at least + 12 ° С;
- Amur is grown in heated greenhouses all year round; survival rate and yield depend more on lighting.
Cucumbers are thermophilic, delicate plants, painfully tolerating contrasting temperatures. The optimal regime for growth and fruiting: above + 20 ° С during the day, not below + 12 ° С at night. Cupid F1, as a super early variety, is more resistant to night coolness. And yet, with a sharp decrease in the temperature of the beds, it is recommended to cover the beds with agrofibre.
Site selection and preparation of beds
The principles of choosing a place for planting Amur cucumber:
- Sunny area or light partial shade.
- In the previous season, pumpkin crops did not grow on this site.
- The best predecessors are onions, potatoes, tomatoes, legumes.
- Loose, fertilized, acid-neutral soil.
The high-yielding variety Amur will respond well to pre-fertilized soil. In the fall, 1 sq. m. area should be applied up to 10 kg of manure, 50 g of superphosphate and 25 g of potash fertilizers. In the spring, ammonium nitrate is used (20 g per 1 sq. M.). It is useful to lay wood ash in the holes just before planting.
For the prevention of diseases and pests, it is good to shed the beds with Bordeaux mixture (1 tbsp. L copper sulfate per 10 liters of water). The soil is cultivated at the rate of 2 liters per 1 sq. m.
How to plant correctly
With the seedling method of growing, Amur cucumber sprouts are ready for transplantation already 14 days after germination. Seedlings with 4 true leaves are considered mature. It is advisable to transfer plants to a permanent place no later than 35 days from sowing.
Weak branching of a cucumber allows planting to thicken up to 3-4 bushes per 1 sq. m, which significantly increases the yield. On an open bed with vertical formation, you can compact the seedlings of this variety up to 5 bushes.
The distance between the cucumber bushes is measured about 30 cm. Planting is possible in a checkerboard pattern. Every 2 lines leave an indent of 0.5 m. The plants of the Amur variety are deepened into the holes by cotyledon leaves and watered abundantly.
The seedless method of planting Amur involves the preparation of seeds, which significantly accelerates germination:
- hardening - at least 12 hours on a shelf in the refrigerator;
- germination - on a damp cloth in a warm room until sprouts appear;
- it is not required to disinfect and stimulate the germination of varietal seeds from large producers.
The hatched seeds of cucumbers are buried no more than 3 cm. Having covered the holes, they are well spilled. It is advisable to cover the beds with foil until the bulk of the seeds germinate.
Follow-up care for cucumbers
The cultivation of the Amur F1 variety frees the grower from the formation of bushes, but does not cancel the following stages of care:
- Watering. The soil in the beds under the Amur plantings should be constantly moderately moist. Increase watering during the flowering period, when cucumbers are poured, it is desirable to moisten the planting every day.
- Loosening and weeding can be eliminatedb, mulching the beds with sawdust, herbal residues, special garden materials. Thus, they prevent the soil from drying out, hypothermia of the roots at night.
- Top dressing. Fertilize cucumbers at least three times per season. The first feeding is appropriate during the flowering period. Further fertilization is carried out as needed during fruiting.
For the full development of Amur F1 cucumbers, nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus compounds are required, as well as a number of trace elements. Therefore, the easiest way is to purchase complex fertilizers and dilute them, following the instructions.
Cucumbers of the Amur F1 variety gratefully respond to foliar spraying with nitroammophos, carbamide or superphosphate mixed with magnesium sulfate (1 tsp dry mixture per 10 l of water). Ash pollination is the easiest way to additionally feed and protect plantings from diseases.
Conclusion
Cucumber Cupid is a young and very promising hybrid. Its varietal qualities allow it to be cultivated under the most contrasting conditions, under the hot sun, in Siberian greenhouses.According to the description of gardeners, the cucumber Cupid F1 manages to yield crops even in the open field in the Urals. Early fruiting and resistance to major diseases make the variety one of the most popular among private gardeners and large farms.
