Screening the Cucumber Germplasm Collection for Fruit Yield and Quality

Yield of cucumber ( Cucumis sativus L.) in the United States has not been significantly increased during the last two decades. Our objective was to evaluate the USDA cucumber germplasm collection for fruit yield and quality. All cucumber plant introduction accessions from the USDA National Plant Germplasm System collection plus check cultivars and breeding lines (hereafter collectively referred to as cultigens) were evaluated for early, total, and marketable yield (number and weight), fruit quality rating, and days to harvest in small plots harvested once. All plants were treated with ethephon (2‐chloroethyl phosphonic acid) to make them gynoecious. Highly significant differences were observed among cultigens for all traits evaluated in the study. Pickling type cultigens with the highest yield (fruit weight) were PI 209065, PI 326598, PI 137848, PI 285610, and PI 264666. Slicing type cultigens with the highest yield were PI 234517, PI 118279, PI 304085, and PI 512614. Beit Alpha type cultigens with the highest yield were PI 167050, PI 163213, PI 532519, PI 211978, PI 357864, PI 183231, and PI 211117. Trellis type cultigens with the highest yield were PI 264228, PI 478366, PI 390262, PI 532524, PI 390267, and PI 532520. The USDA collection also exhibited a wide range in diversity for marketable fruit number, fruit weight, percentage of culled fruit at harvest, fruit quality, and days to harvest. High yielding cultigens identified in the study could be used to develop high yielding cultivars.