Grow Parthenocarpic Cucumbers for a Disease-Free Harvest
Posted by Staff of goGardenNow on
An interesting article was posted by @critterologist on July 11, 2024 in the National Gardening Association Members Ideas section.
"Female cucumber flowers can be distinguished by the tiny cucumber shape at the base of the bloom. In regular varieties, pollination is required to fertilize these little ovaries and let them develop into a harvest of cucumbers. With parthenocarpic varieties, all the flowers are female and develop without need for a pollinator. That's good news for home gardeners struggling with cucumber blights and diseases, most of which are spread by insects!"
In other words, by reducing the presence of insect pollinators, the chance of disease transmission is reduced. Do we really need that? What do you think?