Abstract:
Cucumber is a major vegetable in the Cucurbitaceae family. The performance of
different salad cucumber varieties varies significantly. This study was aimed to evaluate
the varietal performances of four new exotic salad cucumber varieties namely, Han
Mini 02, TCU 172, TCU 136, Han Mini 03 compared to the control variety Basima Fl
under the polytunnel conditions. This research was conducted at the Regional
Agricultural Research and Development Center (RARDC), Kahagolla, Bandarawela,
located in the Upcountry Intermediate Zone during November 2024 to February 2025.
30 plants in each variety were affanged in three replicates with 10 plants per replicate
as a pot experiment in soilless media. A total of 150 plants were used in the experiment.
Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed among the varieties in growth
parameters, including days to first flowering, days to 50o/o flowering, vine height at
50% flowering, vine height at hrst harvest, and days to first harvest. The earliest
flowering was observed in TCU I12 and TCU 136 at 33.66 and 33.76 days,
respectively. These varieties recorded the shortest time to reach 50% flowering, while
Basima F1 exhibited slower reproductive development, taking 36.00 days. Vine height
at 50o/o flowering varied significantly, with Basima F I being the tallest (10.96 cm) and
Han Mini 03 the shortest (58.53 cm). Yield parameters showed that TCU lT2hadthe
highest yield (4.36 kg). This was followed by TCU 136 (4.24kg), and Basima F1 (4.08
kg). Han Mini 02 yielded 3.8058 kg per vine, while the lowest yield was recorded in
Han Mini 03 with 2.9515 kg per vine. The number of fruits per plant was highest for
TCU 136 (31.86) and lowest for Han Mini 03 (23.06). Fruit quality parameters such as
length, width, flesh thickness, and weight varied greatly, with TCU 172 praducing the
heaviest fruits (169.46 g) andHan Mini 03 the lightest (108.86 g). The results indicated
that TCU I72 and, TCU 136 had better growth and yield performance, making them
suitable exotic varieties for polytunnel cultivation. These varieties have been confirmed
to be suitable for cultivation in poly.tunnels in Upcountry Intermediate Zone and
suitable for commercial production in Sri Lanka to increase the yield and market
demand of salad cucumber.
