The gourd family (Cucurbitaceae) is extremely diverse. There are 90 known genera of this family, including about 760 species, most of which are distributed mainly in the tropical regions of the world. Representatives of this family have mostly herbaceous vines. annual plants, however, there are a number of perennial shrub and tree species.

Among the representatives of the gourd family, the greatest national economic importance and wide use have cucumber, watermelon, melon, pumpkin, zucchini and squash. Of lesser practical importance are the luffa, or vegetable sponge, gourd, or gourd, chayote, etc. Typical vegetable crops of this family are cucumber, as well as zucchini and squash (“vegetable pumpkins”), the fruits of which are consumed in technical maturity in the form of young ovaries. . Watermelon, melon and pumpkin belong to a special group vegetable plants- to gourds.

Cucumber

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) belongs to the genus Cucurbita. It is one of the most widely grown vegetable crops in the world. Cucumber is cultivated in almost all countries of the world. It occupies the largest areas in our country, where in different years it is sown on an area of ​​140-160 thousand hectares. From vegetable crops grown in open field, only cabbage and tomato surpass cucumber in terms of sown area and gross production, specific gravity which is at the level of 10-12% of the total sowing of vegetable crops. However, in terms of yield, it is inferior to the main vegetable crops, and therefore its production is only 5-6% of the total vegetable production in the country. At the same time, it should be noted that cucumber is the main crop in protected ground, which provides about 70% of vegetable production obtained here. Cucumber is cultivated in a wide variety of areas of the country. It has received the greatest distribution in the central regions with favorable meteorological conditions for it: in Ukraine, in the North Caucasus, Volga, Central Black Earth and Central economic regions of the RSFSR, as well as in Belarus, Kazakhstan and Moldova.

Cucumber is one of the most popular vegetable crops. It is important that there is a practical opportunity to obtain fresh cucumber fruits throughout almost the entire year - in the winter-spring period from winter greenhouses, in the spring-summer period from spring greenhouses, greenhouses and small-sized film shelters, in the summer-autumn period from open soil. Cucumber fruits are mainly used fresh. Salted and pickled cucumbers are also of great importance for the nutrition of the population, especially in winter and winter-spring.

Cucumber is an annual herbaceous plant. root system it consists of a main root up to 1 m long, running shallow, and numerous lateral roots of the first and subsequent orders, located horizontally mainly in the plow horizon of the soil. The stalk of the cucumber is liana-shaped, branching, reaches a length of 1.5-2 m. after 40-60 cm. Cucumber plants are monoecious (monoycysts), flowers, as a rule, are dioecious (Fig. 15), rarely hermaphroditic.

There are also forms of cucumber with partial dioecy - with a predominant number of female or male flowers (some samples from Japan, China and other regions of the East). This phenomenon is widely used in heterotic cucumber seed production. The cucumber fruit is a false berry (pumpkin) with 3-5 seed chambers (Fig. 16), of various shapes, sizes, pubescence, color, pattern and other features. The fruits contain 100-400 seeds. There are also seedless, so-called parthenocarpic forms of cucumber.

At favorable conditions cucumber seeds sprout on the 4-6th day after sowing. Optimum temperature for seed germination 25-35 °C. Normal shoots can be obtained at a temperature not lower than 17-18 ° C. For normal germination of cucumber seeds, the presence of moisture is also necessary. For seeds to swell, 36-42% of their absolutely dry weight is needed, and for germination - 20-25% more. Cucumber seeds during germination are very sensitive to lack of air, while reducing germination energy and germination. This explains the high responsiveness of the cucumber to light and loose soils and the destructive effect of the soil crust on the seeds.

During the germination of cucumber seeds, the root is the first to start growing, then the development of the growth point begins and the stem appears. The root system in the first growing season grows more intensively than the aerial part of the plant. Subsequently, the growth of the aerial parts of plants is enhanced. The first leaf is formed only 5-6 days after germination. 8-10 days after the first leaf, a second one is formed. After the root system has developed sufficiently, leaves and stems begin to grow rapidly. Each new leaf appears after 3-4 days, then every other day, daily, and then two or more leaves a day. The stem also grows slowly at first and then faster, reaching up to 2 cm per day.

After the formation of 4-6 leaves in early ripening varieties, and 6-8 leaves in late-ripening varieties, on the main stem (lashes) are formed side shoots of the first order, then shoots of the second order on them, and so on, first in the axils of the lower leaves, then in the upper ones. Flowering begins 30-40 days after germination in early-ripening varieties and 50-60 days after germination in late-ripening varieties. The flowers of inflorescences located in the axils of the lower leaves of the main stem bloom first (in early ripening varieties - in the axils of the 2nd-3rd leaf, in late-ripening varieties - in the 7th-12th leaf). Then the first flowers of subsequent inflorescences and the next flowers of the first inflorescence bloom. Flowering constantly spreads from bottom to top and from the main stem to shoots of the first and then subsequent orders.

Cucumber flowers are short-lived - in the northern regions they usually open at 6-7 in the morning, are open for 1-2 days, then close. Unfertilized flowers can keep the corolla fresh for up to 4 days. In the south, during the hot season, they are open only half a day - from 4-5 am to noon. The stigmas of the female flowers are most susceptible, and the pollen of the male flowers is viable in the first hours after the opening of the flowers, when fertilization usually occurs. Sometimes they are capable of fertilization even before the flowers bloom. Complete pollen is formed at a temperature of about 20-30 °C. When the temperature drops to 14-17°C, the viability of pollen decreases to 25%, and at a temperature of 7-12°C it becomes sterile (Belik, Koziper, 1964, 1967).

Male flowers in plants of monoecious cucumber forms are usually much larger than female ones, and on various parts plants their ratio is not the same. The further the shoot order is from the base of the stem, the greater the relative number of female flowers. The ratio of flowers also changes under the influence of factors external environment and artificial effects on plants. Lowering the temperature and increasing the humidity of the air and soil, reducing daylight hours during the formation of flowers, fumigating with carbon monoxide or fertilizing with carbon dioxide, pinching plants, exposing them to acetylene, and other methods help increase the absolute and relative number of female flowers. Unfortunately, the use of these techniques is practically possible only in protected ground. When growing cucumber in open ground, the ratio of cucumber flowers can be influenced by nutritional conditions and changes in the pH of the medium. Enhanced nutrition with phosphorus, potassium, boron and nitrogen restriction enhance the formation of female flowers. Largest number female flowers are formed in a neutral environment (pH 5.9-6.1).

After fertilization, under normal growing conditions, cucumber ovaries grow rapidly and reach technical (removable) maturity already on the 7-12th day after fertilization (greenery phase). First, the ovaries grow intensively in length, then in thickness. In the future, fruit growth gradually slows down and stops by the beginning of ripening (the period from the green stage to the full ripening of seeds in the fruit, depending on the variety and growing conditions, is 1-1.5 months), the color changes, acidity increases, lignification of the seed coats occurs, in Ultimately, the consumer value of the fruit is lost.

Cucumber is one of the most heat demanding vegetable crops. For normal plant growth, a temperature of 25-27 ° C is required. At temperatures below 15 ° C, plant growth and development are delayed. Prolonged exposure to a temperature of 8-10 °C. can lead to plant death. At 3-4 days of exposure to a temperature of 3-4°C, the plants die. Cucumber plants do not tolerate frost. Cucumber seedlings in the cotyledon phase are most sensitive to cold. When they get stronger and intensive photosynthesis begins in them (in the phase of 1-2 true leaves), their resistance to cold increases significantly. Cucumber blooms at a temperature not lower than 14-16 ° C, and the anthers crack at 16-17 ° C. The optimum temperature for flowering and fertilization of cucumber flowers is 18-21 °C.

Long-term studies of the physiology of the cold resistance of cucumber, carried out at the NIIOKh (Velik et al., 1960-1975), showed that when cucumber plants are exposed to low temperatures, a number of pathological changes occur in them, which are noted even after they are moved to favorable conditions. temperature conditions: there is an increase in the viscosity of protoplasm, a decrease in the hydration of leaf tissues, a change in the content of ascorbic acid in leaves, a decrease in the content of chlorophyll both due to destruction and due to the weakening of its neoplasm, a violation of the nitrogen-phosphorus balance, i.e. there is a violation of the entire metabolism. At the same time, the pathological reaction to cooling of the southern, less cold-resistant varieties is more pronounced than in the northern, more cold-resistant varieties.

Cucumber is one of the most moisture-demanding vegetable crops, which is due to the poor development of the root system, its low suction power, large evaporative surface of plants, high water content and transpiration intensity. With insufficient soil moisture and low relative humidity, cucumber plants grow poorly, develop slowly, the first, most valuable, ovaries fall off, few fruits are formed, they do not reach the normal size and the necessary taste. Along with this, excessive soil moisture, especially in combination with low temperature, is also harmful to cucumber plants. With excessive moisture, accompanied by a decrease in air in the soil, the growth and activity of the roots, and consequently, the provision of plants with nutrients from the soil, weakens, which negatively affects the growth of above-ground organs and plant productivity.

Optimal soil moisture for cucumber plants in different periods growing season is within 70-80% HB, and relative humidity - 70-80%. Higher soil moisture is needed in the first growing season - before flowering and during intensive fruit growth. At the beginning of mass flowering, a slight decrease in soil moisture is possible, which contributes to more successful completion fertilization process. Naturally, cucumber plants consume the greatest amount of water during the maximum increase in the assimilation surface, the maximum size of plants, which coincides with the period of intensive fruit growth and yield. During this period it is necessary frequent watering little standards.

High productivity of cucumber plants is possible only with a combination of high humidity of air and soil with an optimal ambient temperature. At low soil and air temperatures, cucumber plants cannot fully utilize the available moisture, due to the fact that the root system weakly absorbs it under these conditions and its supply cannot cover the moisture consumption of plants. At the same time, cucumber plants wither - the so-called physiological drought sets in.

Cucumber is a light-demanding crop. Although it is more shade-tolerant than a tomato, it actively responds to improved lighting conditions by increasing the yield, which is widely used in protected ground, where additional illumination and light culture of cucumber are used. These plants are short-day or neutral to the length of the day. Most varieties of cucumber, when the day length is reduced to 10-12 hours (by shading in the morning-evening hours, rich in long-wave red rays) for 15-20 days during the seedling period, accelerate their development, intensify and accelerate the formation of female flowers, increase early and general harvest.

Zucchini and patisson

Zucchini and squash belong to the species ordinary, or hard-barked, pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo L.), being its varieties: zucchini - var. giraumontia Duch., patisson - var. patisson Duch. (Filov, 1960).

Zucchini in the USSR is grown everywhere, but in small areas, and squash is cultivated in very limited quantities. In the southern regions of the country, zucchini is grown for fodder purposes and for industrial canning (both zucchini and squash), and in the central and northern regions - for home cooking and canning. Use the fruits of zucchini in the form of a 7-12-day ovary both in the household and in the canning industry for cooking squash caviar and puree, stuffing, canning and fried consumption. Patissons are used in the form of 3-5-day ovaries mainly for pickling and pickling, as well as cucumbers, and 7-10-day ovaries are used in home cooking.

Plants of zucchini and squash are annuals, usually bushy (there are also long-branched ones). The fruits of zucchini are elongated, cylindrical (Fig. 17, 1), sometimes slightly curved. The bark of fruits in the phase of technical maturity is soft, white or green in color, in the phase of physiological maturity it is woody (armored), light yellow, yellow or cream in color. The fruits of patisson are bell-shaped, plate-shaped or round-flat (Fig. 17, 2), white or yellow in color, without a pattern or with a pattern in the form of green stripes and spots.

Squash and especially zucchini are early crops. Under favorable conditions, their seedlings appear on the 6-7th day after sowing. Approximately one month after the emergence of seedlings, flowering begins, and after another 7-12 days, marketable fruits are formed. In the most common varieties of zucchini, from mass shoots to technical (table) fruit maturity, 40-60 days pass, and to physiological - 100-120 days, for squash - 45-85 and 100-120 days, respectively.

Zucchini and patisson are heat-demanding crops, but the former is more resistant to cold. Zucchini seeds begin to germinate at 8-9.5°C, and patisson seeds - at a temperature of 13-14°C. The optimum temperature for seed germination and subsequent plant growth of both crops is 25-27 °C, the minimum temperature is 12-15 °C. These crops do not tolerate frost. Zucchini plants can tolerate short-term temperature drops down to 6-10 °C.

The plants of these crops are quite resistant to drought, but watering usually helps to increase the yield, especially the squash, which is more demanding on water than zucchini. Both crops are demanding in terms of light, as well as fertility, especially the presence of organic matter in the soil.

The pumpkin family unites quite diverse representatives - from the familiar cucumber and zucchini to the very exotic sicana and trichosanth - in total more than a hundred genera and almost a thousand species, mainly growing in tropical countries. However, some of them quite successfully acclimatized in our latitudes, and today they can be found in almost any garden plot. middle lane Russia.

Almost all species of the gourd family are widely used: some have edible fruits (cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, watermelons), others are suitable for making various vessels and musical instruments (lagenaria), sponges and stuffing material (luffa), hats and mats (chayote) , some species have medicinal properties or used as ornamental plants.

The most popular of cucurbits on our personal plots - these are cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkins and squash, melons and watermelons are less common. Some Russian amateur vegetable growers successfully grow quite exotic crops of this family, such as anguria, lagenaria, momordica, luffa, etc.

Cucumber is one of the vegetables most loved by Russians. What feast in Russia can do without a crispy cucumber! A native of distant India, known to man at least three thousand years before new era, this vegetable was liked to eat in Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece. And in ancient Rome all year round grown in greenhouses. Once from Byzantium to Russia, the cucumber became a real folk favorite. Today, in our country, cucumbers are grown in the summer in the open field, in spring, winter and autumn - in a protected, and simply at home: on window sills, balconies, loggias and verandas.

The round-faced queen of the garden - pumpkin - is a wonderful vegetable crop. For many peoples of the world, this vegetable is a symbol of abundance and prosperity. It is widely cultivated in all countries of the world, on all continents of the Earth, in various climatic conditions. In Russia, three types of pumpkin are most popular - large-fruited pumpkin, hard-barked pumpkin and nutmeg pumpkin. Pumpkin is not only tasty and nutritious, but also healthy vegetable, possessing medicinal properties, it is easily absorbed by the body and helps to resist a whole range of various diseases.

No less popular among gardeners are zucchini and zucchini, which are varieties of pumpkin.

Squash tastes little different from asparagus and artichoke, and in canned form resembling porcini mushrooms, are considered even more useful than zucchini. Young patisson fruits have a high nutritional value, they are good and fried, and boiled, and stewed, and pickled. In addition, patissons are very decorative, reminiscent of a plate with jagged edges, a kind of UFO in the garden.

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PUMPKIN family
(CUCURBITACEAE)

/ / Pumpkin /
/ / Cucurbitaceae /

Family Cucurbitaceae (CUCURBITACEAE) This family includes 130 genera and about 900 species, growing mainly in tropical and subtropical regions from tropical rainforests to deserts. Africa is especially rich in wild-growing pumpkins, as well as Asia and America. In temperate latitudes, there are relatively few representatives of this family. Pumpkin annuals or perennials, climbing or creeping herbs, rarely shrubs, with alternate, palmately or pinnately lobed (rarely separate) or simple leaves. Most members of the family are equipped with antennae, which are modified shoots. Flowers are usually unisexual, unisexual or dioecious, rarely bisexual, actinomorphic, solitary or collected in axillary inflorescences - bunches, brushes, panicles, umbrellas. The perianth, together with the base of the filaments, forms a flower tube attached to the ovary; cup is five-lobed. Corolla sympetalous, five-lobed or five-parted (up to dissected), yellow or white, rarely greenish or red. Stamens 2-3-5, very rarely 2, more often 5, of which usually 4 are fused in pairs; sometimes all filaments or anthers of all stamens grow together. The gynoecium consists of 3, rarely 5 or 4 carpels; ovary inferior (sometimes semi-inferior), often three-celled, with numerous ovules in each nest; column with thickened fleshy stigmas.

Cucurbitaceae are mostly insect pollinated plants. Large, well-developed nectaries, filled with very sweet nectar, have such a structure that they are accessible to everyone. Therefore, the flowers of gourds are visited by about 150 species of insects. The flowers of many species do not have a strong aroma and lure pollinators either with large bright yellow corollas (like those of a pumpkin, watermelon, cucumber, etc.), or their petals have the ability to reflect ultraviolet rays invisible to our eyes. The main pollinators of gourds are bees (especially honey bees) and steppe ants, as well as wasps and bumblebees. Insects visit male flowers more often, as pollen serves as an excellent food for insects; found more than a hundred useful substances, including proteins, fats and many vitamins. In the vast majority of representatives of the family, the fruits are similar in structure to a berry, but very peculiar, called "pumpkin". Pumpkin, watermelon, melon and cucumber are classic examples of this type of fruit. In pumpkins, sometimes some of the most ripe and viable seeds germinate inside the fruit. As a result, when an overripe fruit cracks, not only seeds fall out of it, but also fully developed seedlings, the roots of which quickly penetrate into loose soil and take root. The most modern classification of the gourd family belongs to the English botanist C. Jeffrey (1980). According to this classification, the family is divided into two subfamilies and 8 tribes.

A large subfamily of gourds (Gucurbitoideae) contains 7 tribes, including 110 genera. One of the most primitive representatives of the gourd subfamily is the genus Telfairia (Telfairia), belonging to the tribe Joliffieae. The same tribe includes the genera Momordica and Tladiantha. The paleotropical genus of momordica includes about 45 species, most of which are annual climbing vines with a thin stem and long-leaved leaves, cultivated in the tropical countries of Asia. In the genus Tladianta, there are about 15 species that grow in East and Southeast Asia.

Another tribe (the Benincaseae tribe) includes the genera Acanthosicyos (Acanthosicyos, 2 species), squirting cucumber(Ecballium. monotypic genus), watermelon (Citrullus) and others. Akanthositsios is a typical desert plant with tendrils turned into spines and a thick, sometimes very long root. Of the other genera of the same tribe, watermelon (Citrullus) must be mentioned first of all. These are annual or perennial pubescent creeping herbs with dissected leaves. The flowers are large, solitary, unisexual or bisexual; sepals and their petals grow together at the base. Corolla yellow, stamens 5. Stigma three-lobed, ovary three-celled. The fruit is a multi-seeded juicy pumpkin with flat seeds. Watermelon is common in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The genus includes 3 species: edible watermelon, colocynth, whiskerless watermelon, the range of which is limited to the Namib Desert region in Southwest Africa. The tendrils of this plant are completely reduced. The same tribe, in addition to watermelon, includes the genera Bryonia, Lagenaria, or gourd (Lagenaria), Benincasa, and some others. The genus step includes 12 species growing in the Canary Islands, the Mediterranean, Europe, the Front and Central Asia. These climbing perennial tall plants can be found in the Caucasus and Central Asia among shrubs, on forest edges, in ravines, and also as weeds near hedges and walls. The antennae of the feet have a particularly fine sensitivity to the touch of solid objects, which causes them to grow very rapidly and bend towards the stimulus. In a relatively short period of time, the tendrils tightly wrap around the support, reliably holding the weight of the heavy mass of the plant. Small inconspicuous flowers of the step, collected in sparse inflorescences, almost do not stand out against the background of the leaves and smell very weakly, however, insects willingly visit them, attracted by the ultraviolet pattern of the corolla, invisible to our eyes. In the pumpkin family, only representatives of this genus have a fruit that is a real berry. Numerous small seeds of the footstep are covered with strong and strong armor. The embryo of the seed that has passed through the bird's digestive tract remains intact and capable of germination. Overripe berries of the footstep are crushed at the slightest touch, and the seeds are glued with mucus to the skin of the animal that touched them, thus spreading too. Some species of the genus are poisonous plants, some are used in a number of countries as medicinal. Berries and roots containing glycosides brionin and brionidine are especially poisonous.

The Cucurbiteae tribe includes 12 genera, including the genus Cucurbita, which has about 20 species that grow wild exclusively in America. Some of them have long been introduced into culture. To date, there are a huge number of varieties of food, feed and decorative pumpkins. Representatives of the genus are perennial or annual herbaceous plants with a rounded or faceted stem, often prostrate, sometimes climbing. The genus Luffa (Luffa) occupies a somewhat isolated position in the tribe Cucurbitaceae, which has much in common with the next tribe Cyclantherae (Cyclanthereae). There are 5 species in the genus.

The cyclanter tribe (Cyclanthereae) includes 12 genera, growing mainly in the tropical and subtropical zone. In all representatives of these genera, the stamen filaments are fused, the fruits are prickly, often opening. An example is the large American genus Echinocystis (Echinocystis), which unites about 15 species, with white small monoecious flowers. Another interesting genus of the tribe is the cyclantera (Cyclanthera), which includes about 15 species. All of them grow in Central and tropical South America. These are herbaceous climbing plants with pubescent stems and five-seven-lobed leaves. Yellow, green or white flowers without nectaries. therefore, plants are pollinated mainly by the wind. Ripe fruits are suddenly opened by two valves, each of which is folded back with force. As a result, the seeds are scattered over quite considerable distances. The Sicyosovye tribe (Sicyoeae) is characterized by female flowers with a single-celled, less often three-celled ovary; stamens of male flowers fused, with sinuous anthers. To the tribe belong 6 genera, of which the most interesting are Sitsios (Sicyos) and Chayote (Sechium). The genus Sitsios includes about 15 species that grow in the Hawaiian Islands, Polynesia, Australia and tropical America. Most of them are vine-like annual herbs with alternate, slightly lobed or angular thin leaves. The genus Schizopepone (Schizopepon), which forms a separate tribe of Schizopeponeae (Schizopeponae), has only 5 species, is distributed from North India to East Asia.

The Trichosanth tribe (Trichosaiitheae) includes 10 genera. All are characterized by long tubular flowers with fringed or entire petals. The fruits are cylindrical or trihedral, often non-opening or opening into three equal parts. The most famous is the genus Trichosanthes, which includes about 15 species distributed in Southeast Asia and Australia. The morphological structure of these plants is common for most gourds - a liana-like appearance, wide lobed leaves, unisexual flowers; men's are collected in a rare brush, and women's are single. Often the petals are spirally bent inward, which is why the long-tubular flowers take on several unusual view. Unripe fruits are edible, so some of these species are introduced into the culture. In addition, mature fruits are often very showy, which, together with the abundant lush greenery of the leaves, makes the plants very decorative. The monotypic Indo-Malaysian genus Hodgsonia, close to Trichosanthes, is also interesting.

The Melothrieae tribe includes 34 genera, including the cucumber genus (Cucumis), represented by more than 25 species, distributed mainly in Africa. Only a few species are found in Asia. A number of species are cultivated as food plants for their edible fruits. Other interesting genera of the tribe include Corallocarpus, Melothria, and Kedrostis. The genus kedrostis (about 35 species) is distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Madagascar, tropical Asia and Malesia. In the steppes of South Africa, one can often find creeping liana-like, densely pubescent, gray-green, herbaceous plants belonging to the genus Kedrostis creeping along the ground.

The subfamily Zanonievye (Zanonioideae) includes 18 genera, which are combined into one tribe. Most of the plants of this subfamily live in countries of the tropical and subtropical belt. The monotypic Iido-Malaysian genus Zanonia most fully characterizes the entire subfamily. Its flowers are dioecious with a two-three-celled ovary; the fruits are hairy club-shaped boxes, opening with a lid when ripe, scattering light winged oblate seeds that are spread by the wind over long distances. The genus actinostemma (Actinostemma), numbering about 6 species, is distributed in East Asia and the Himalayas. All of them are perennial herbaceous vines with climbing stems. One of the species is found within Russia.

From fruit vegetable crops to the gourd family ( Cucurbitaceae) include: cucumber ( Cucumis sativus L.), large-fruited pumpkin ( Cucurbita maxima Duch.), hard-skinned pumpkin, or table ( Cucurbita pepo L.), butternut squash ( Cucurbita moschata Duch.), common watermelon ( Citrullus vulgaris Schrad.) and melon ( Cucumis melo L.). All these plants are annuals with dioecious flowers. Among pumpkin vegetable plants, according to the peculiarities of agricultural technology, watermelon and melon are distinguished into a separate group of gourds.

Cucumber. Demanding to heat and moisture plant. Homeland cucumber - tropical regions of India. The main stem (lash) is five-sided, reaches a length of 0.5 to 2 meters or more. On lashes of the first order, staminate (male) flowers are usually formed, on lashes of the second and subsequent orders, the percentage of pistillate (female) flowers that bear fruit increases. The female flowers bloom 2-5 days after the male ones. male flowers placed in the axils of the leaves, 5-7 pieces, forming an inflorescence - shield, female flowers are mostly solitary.

The cucumber fruit is a false berry (pumpkin) with 3 to 5 seed chambers (Fig. 13). Cucumber develops well at a temperature of 20-25 °. Young, unripe fruits, the so-called greens, are used for food, which appear 8-12 days after the start of flowering (technical ripeness). The fruit in which mature seeds have formed is called the testis (biological ripeness). From sowing to the beginning of fruiting, 32-70 days pass, fruiting lasts 30-40 days.

The root system consists of the main root and numerous lateral roots located horizontally in the surface layer of the soil.

Adventitious roots may form on the stem at the leaf axils. Stems are long, branching, creeping, with tendrils. The leaves are petiolate, lobed incised or entire (Fig. 14).

Pumpkin. Pumpkins are native to Central and South America. In culture, pumpkin is represented by three types: large-fruited, nutmeg and hard-bark. According to the method of culture, timing of ripening and use, hard-skinned pumpkin is divided into winter gourds and summer vegetables. vegetable gourd represented by the following bush forms: zucchini, squash, kruknek. Botanical differences between pumpkins are very characteristic and make it relatively easy to identify individual species and varieties (Fig. 15). Large-fruited pumpkin- a herbaceous plant with powerful lashes. Scourge creeping, long, rounded. The leaves are large, erect, long-petiolate, the petioles are hollow, strongly pubescent. Flowers are dioecious. The fruits are very large, often one-color, smooth or slightly ribbed. The bark of the fruit is soft and easily cut with a knife. The pulp is quite dense, medium sugar. Hard-skinned pumpkin (dining room) characterized by a strong grooved stem and leaf petioles, as well as the irregularity of leaf blades. The pubescence of lashes and leaves is very hard, coarse. The fruits are medium in size, firm, with a bright pattern. The pulp is dense, sugary. Butternut squash differs in the extended cylindrical fruits with interception in the middle. The pulp of the fruit is medium dense, good taste. This species is thermophilic, with a long growing season. Rice. fifteen - Types and varieties of pumpkins: 1 - large-fruited; 2 - chalmoid; 3 - nutmeg; 4 - hard bark (dining room); 5 - zucchini; 6 - patisson; 7- crookneck. vegetable marrow it is similar in its characteristics to the table pumpkin, differing only in the bushy form of plants that do not form lashes, and elongated, cylindrical fruits of white, cream or green color. Zelentsy 8-12 days old, 20-25 cm long, are used for food. In recent years, a new intensive type of zucchini has become widespread. His the nutritional value due to the presence in the pulp of the fetus of easily digestible carbohydrates, carotene, vitamins C, B 1, B 2, PP. Among vegetable crops of the pumpkin family, zucchini is the most cold-resistant crop. Squash differs from zucchini in the plate, plate-bell-shaped, rounded-flattened shape of the fruit. The color of the fruit is white, cream or light green. The flesh is white and firmer than zucchini. A 2-5-day-old ovary with a diameter of up to 8-10 cm is used for food. The fruits are consumed fried and stewed, they are salted and pickled. crookneck differs from other varieties in the shape of the fruit - curved in the form of a goose neck (in English kruknek - crooked neck). The stem and leaf petioles are faceted with hard pubescence. Fruits are formed mainly on the main stem. Young unripe fruits are fried, marinated, stuffed, canned. Watermelon- an annual herbaceous plant with creeping liana-like shoots, historically adapted to arid and hot steppe regions. The homeland of watermelon is considered South Africa. The root is taproot, highly branched, reaches a depth of 3-5 m. The stem is a creeping lash with thin lateral lashes of the second and third orders. The leaves are alternate, deeply double-cut (which distinguishes watermelon from other pumpkin), with elongated-rounded lobes. Leaves and stems are covered with dense pubescence and wax coating. The fruit (multi-seeded false berry) is large, often spherical, covered with a dense shell, the surface of which is distinguished by a variety of dark green, green or green-white patterns. The inside of the fetus, the largest in volume, is made up of overgrown juicy placentas with seeds attached to them. Juicy pulp of a fruit of red color, various density.

Chinese bitter gourd (momordica charantia, bitter cucumber)

cassabanana (scented sicana, musky cucumber, fragrant pumpkin)

gourd (common lagenaria, calabash, calabash, calabash, bottle gourd, table gourd)

melotria rough (mouse watermelon, mouse melon, Mexican sour cucumber, Mexican miniature watermelon, sour gherkin)

What is in pumpkin vegetables:

Vegetable	calorie content	Carbohydrates, proteins, fats	vitamins	Minerals	Additionally
Cucumber	14 kcal	Proteins - 0.8 g, fats - 0.1 g, carbohydrates - 2.5 g.	Carotene, vitamins PP, C and group B, K, choline, biotin	A wide range of macro- and microelements (magnesium, sodium, calcium, copper, selenium, phosphorus, chlorine, iodine, manganese, zinc, iron, cobalt, aluminum, chromium, molybdenum). Especially a lot of potassium.	Contains 95-97% water. Nutrients little (up to 5%), of which half is sugar. The glycoside cucurbitacin gives cucumbers a bitter taste. Dietary fiber - 1 g.
Pumpkin	22 kcal	Fats - 0.1 g Proteins - 1 g Carbohydrates - 4.4 g	Vitamins C (8 mg /%), B1, B2, B5, E, PP, carotene - 5-12 mg per 100 g of wet weight (more than in carrots), nicotinic acid, folic acid,	Copper, cobalt, zinc, salts of potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron.	The fruit pulp contains sugars (from 3 to 15%), starch (15-20%), dietary fiber 2 g. From sugars - glucose, fructose, sucrose.
vegetable marrow	27 kcal	Fats - 0.3 g Proteins - 0.6 g Carbohydrates - 4.6 g	Vitamins (mg%): C - 15, PP - 0.6, B1 and B2 - 0.03 each, B6 - 0.11, carotene - 0.03. In terms of carotene content, yellow-fruited varieties of zucchini surpass even carrots.	Rich in potassium - 240 mg%, iron - 0.4 mg%. Contains sodium, magnesium, phosphorus, calcium.	Organic acids - 0.1 g. Dietary fiber 1 g.
Squash	19.4 kcal	Proteins - 0.6 g. Fats - 0.1 g. Carbohydrates - 4.3 g.	Vitamins PP, B1, B2, C.	Potassium, magnesium, sodium, phosphorus, calcium, iron.	Dietary fiber - 1.32 g.
Watermelon	32 kcal	Carbohydrates 5.8 g. Fats - 0.1 g. Proteins - 0.6 g.	Vitamins - thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid, carotene - 0.1-0.7 mg /%, ascorbic acid - 0.7-20 mg /%, B6, PP, C, biotin, folic acid.	Calcium - 14 mg /%, magnesium - 224 mg /%, sodium - 16 mg /%, potassium - 64 mg /%, phosphorus - 7 mg /%, iron in organic form - 1 mg /%;	The pulp contains 5.5 - 13% of easily digestible sugars (glucose, fructose and sucrose). By the time of ripening, glucose and fructose predominate, sucrose accumulates during the storage of watermelon. Acids - 0.1 g (citric, malic). Dietary fiber - 0.4 g.
Melon	35 kcal	Proteins - 0.6 g. Fats - 0.3 g. Carbohydrates - 7.4 g.	Vitamins C (5-29 mg%), PP, groups B, E, carotene, P, folic acid.	Iron, potassium, sodium, calcium, magnesium, cobalt, sulfur, copper, phosphorus, chlorine, iodine, zinc, fluorine

A bit of botany

Pumpkin vegetables belong to the family of flowering plants of the same name, which is represented by annual or perennial herbs overwintering with the help of root tubers or lower parts of the stem; rarely shrubs and subshrubs.

Plants of the pumpkin family are characterized by stems creeping along the ground with tendrils clinging to a support or landscape elements, rigid or hairy petioles simple leaves, single axillary or flowers collected in an inflorescence, and the fruit of a pumpkin.

Pumpkin - a fruit characteristic of this family of plants - a berry-like multi-seeded fruit with a usually hard outer layer, a fleshy middle and a juicy inner. outer layer pumpkins are not always woody, so in cucumber and melon it is fleshy.

Pumpkin differs from berries in a large number of seeds and the structure of the pericarp, this type of fruit is formed only from the lower ovary and includes three carpels. Pumpkin in some plants reaches a very impressive size.

Vegetable gourd plants belong to several botanical genera gourd family:

1. Genus Pumpkin.
   • - an annual herbaceous plant with large smooth oval or spherical fleshy pumpkin fruits, covered with a hard crust and containing numerous seeds. Pumpkin keeps well.
   • - bush variety of pumpkin ordinary with cylindrical or oblong fruits of green, yellow, cream, black or white color. The surface of the fruit is smooth, warty or ribbed. The most delicious young fruits of 7-10-day ovary with uncoarse seeds. Zucchini is one of the most common varieties of zucchini.
   • - a kind of pumpkin ordinary, an annual herbaceous plant, cultivated everywhere. The fruits of the plant are plate-shaped or bell-shaped with serrated edges; yellow, white, green, orange. For food, young fruits are used, 5-7-day-old ovaries with dense pulp and uncoarse seeds.
   The fruits of pumpkin, zucchini and squash are usually eaten after heat treatment: stewed, boiled, fried, baked. Pumpkin is used to make puree baby food; from zucchini and pumpkin - caviar. Squash and zucchini canned and pickled.
2. Rod Cucumber.
   • has a juicy multi-seeded, green color, usually with pronounced pimples fruit. Cucumber fruits of 5-7 day old ovary with underdeveloped seeds are used for food. As it matures, the skin becomes rougher, the seeds hard, and the flesh tasteless. Cucumber is usually eaten raw, added to salads, canned, salted, pickled.
   • – melon culture, in our understanding, more a fruit than a vegetable. The fruit of the melon has a spherical or elongated shape, green, yellow, brownish or white in color. The weight of the melon fruit reaches 10 kg. Ripe fruits are used for food, it takes 2-6 months for a melon to ripen. Melon contains up to 18% sugars. Melon is often eaten raw, candied fruits are also made from it, dried.
   • - a cultivated plant of the American Indians, growing in the tropics and subtropics. It has small (up to 8 cm long, 4 cm in diameter, weight 30-50 grams) cylindrical fruits covered with fleshy soft spikes. Young green fruits are similar in taste to a regular cucumber. Ripe yellow-orange fruits are not edible.
   • - herbaceous vine, cultivated in America, New Zealand, Israel. The fruits look like a small oval melon with soft sparse spikes. Fruit weight up to 200 grams. Ripe fruits are yellow, orange or red, the pulp is green jelly-like with numerous light green seeds up to 1 cm long, the peel is hard and inedible. The taste of kiwano is reminiscent of banana and cucumber. Eat fresh, add to milk and fruit cocktails, salads, canned. Rich in vitamin C and B vitamins.
3. Rod Luffa.
   Usually, washcloths, filters, rugs, insulating materials. How vegetables are cultivated annual vines .
   • Egyptian luffa (cylindrical luffa), cultivated in countries with a tropical and subtropical climate, has smooth, ribless, cylindrical or club-shaped fruits up to 50-70 cm long, 6-10 cm in diameter.
   • Luffa sharp-ribbed (faceted luffa), growing in Pakistan and India and imported to a number of other countries, has a club-shaped fruit with protruding longitudinal ribs, up to 30-35 cm long, 6-10 cm in diameter.
   The pulp of young fruits is juicy and slightly sweet, reminiscent of cucumber in taste. As the luffa fruit ripens, its flesh becomes dry and fibrous. Young fruits are eaten raw, stewed, boiled, canned.
4. Rod Chayote.
   - a perennial climbing plant, reaching 20 meters in length, cultivated in countries with a tropical and subtropical climate. Chayote edible forms up to 10 root tubers with white pulp weighing up to 10 kg. Fruits are round or pear-shaped with a thin, strong skin; whitish, light yellow or green; 7-20 cm long and weighing up to a kilogram. Inside the fruit is one white flat-oval seed 3-5 cm in size. The pulp of the fruit is sweetish juicy, rich in starch. All parts of the plant are edible. Most often, unripe fruits are eaten (stewed, boiled, raw added to salads). The seeds are roasted. The tubers are cooked like potatoes. Since chayote edible tubers are used for food, it can also be classified as a tuber vegetable.
5. Rod Watermelon.
   - an annual herbaceous plant, melon culture. The fruit of the watermelon is spherical, oval; fruit color from white and yellow to dark green with a pattern in the form of stripes or spots; the flesh is very juicy, sweet, often red, pink or crimson, rarely yellow or whitish. Watermelon pulp contains up to 13% of easily digestible sugars. Watermelon is eaten raw as a fruit, rarely salted.
6. Rod Benicaz.
   - herbaceous liana cultivated in the countries of South, Southeast, East Asia. The fruits are spherical or oblong in shape, large, on average 35 cm in length, but reach 2 meters. Young fruits are velvety, as they ripen, they are covered with a wax coating, so that they can be stored for a long time. Wax gourd is eaten raw, candy and sweets are made from it, boiled. The seeds are eaten roasted, the young greens can be used in salads.
7. Rod Momordica.
   • - an annual herbaceous vine grown in areas with a warm climate, mainly in South and Southeast Asia. Fruits of medium size (10 cm long, 4 cm in diameter) with a rough surface, wrinkled warty. The shape of the pumpkin is oval, spindle-shaped. Unripe green fruits with dense, juicy, crisp, pale green flesh have a bitter taste. As they ripen, the fruits become bright yellow or orange, becoming even more bitter. Unripe fruits are eaten, which are soaked for several hours in salt water before stewing or boiling to remove bitterness. Young fruits are preserved. Young shoots with flowers and leaves are stewed. The fruit contains a large number of iron, calcium, potassium and carotene.
   • - another edible cultivated momordica, grows in India. Its fruits are oval-round, warty, turning yellow or orange as they ripen. Fruits are eaten boiled, fried. The fruit is rich in carotene, calcium, phosphorus.
8. Genus Lagenaria.
   - an annual liana of the subtopic and tropical zone, cultivated in Africa, China, South Asia, South America, the young fruits of which are eaten, and vessels and dishes are made from the old ones, smoking pipes, musical instruments(the tool is called "bark"). Unripe fruits with loose pulp and a bitter taste are used for food. The seeds are used to make edible oil.
9. Rod Cyclantera.
   originally from South America, cultivated in the tropics and subtropics. Small oval, narrowed at both ends, fruits (length 5-7 cm, diameter 3 cm) with thick juicy walls and 8-10 black seeds in the inner cavity are eaten young (when the skin of the fruit is green). When ripe, the pumpkin becomes cream or pale green. Salads are made from raw fruits, or the vegetable is consumed stewed. Young shoots and flowers are also used as food.
10. Genus Trichozant.
    - a herbaceous liana cultivated in the tropics and subtropics of Australia, South and Southeast Asia. The fruit is very long, reaches up to 1.5 meters in length and up to 10 cm in diameter, in the process of growth it often acquires bizarre curves. The color of the ripe fruit is orange, the skin is thin, the flesh is red, slimy, tender. A very popular pumpkin vegetable in Asian cuisine. The greens of the plant (leaves, stems, tendrils) are used in cooking as a green vegetable for salads.
11. Genus Melotria.
    - a perennial herbaceous vine, sometimes cultivated for the sake of small (2-3 cm in length) edible fruits that taste like cucumbers. The fruits are eaten unripe. In addition to round-oval green-striped pumpkin fruits, the plant produces edible tubers comparable in size and shape to sweet potato tubers. Tuber weight reaches 400 grams. Tubers, to taste something between radish and cucumber) are used in salads, fruits are eaten raw, canned, pickled.
12. Genus Tladianta.
    - perennial herbaceous liana, grows in the Russian Far East, Primorsky Territory, Northeast China. Cultivated to a limited extent as an edible and ornamental plant. Ripe fruits are similar in size and shape to small cucumbers, only soft red with barely noticeable stripes. The pulp of the fruit is sweet, contains many small dark seeds. Ripe fruits are removed ripe at the end of September. Eat raw, make jam, jam. Green fruits can be preserved in the same way as cucumbers.
13. Rod Sikana.
    - a large herbaceous liana cultivated in the tropical zone of South and Central America. Ripe fruits are red, orange, burgundy or purple, elongated, slightly curved, large (up to 60 cm long, 11 cm in diameter and weighing up to 4 kg) with a glossy smooth peel. Flesh orange or yellow color, very sweet and juicy, has a taste of melon. In the center of the fruit is a fleshy core with many oval seeds. Young pumpkin sicana are eaten raw in salads, fried, added to soups and meat dishes. From ripe fruits, you can cook jam, make jam, but it is most delicious to eat raw. Well kept.

The use of pumpkin vegetables

Pumpkin vegetables are quite widely used in nutrition. They are stewed, baked, fried, eaten raw, added to salads, pickled and salted, and even caviar and mashed potatoes are made. Pumpkin and zucchini are widely used in children's and dietary nutrition. Some cucurbits (such as watermelon, melon, and ripe cassabanana) are eaten as fruits. Pumpkin vegetables are rich in vitamin C, carotene, contain B vitamins, trace elements.

AT medicinal purposes pumpkin vegetables are used more often to improve metabolism and digestion and activity gastrointestinal tract as diuretic and choleretic. Cucumber is actively used in cosmetology as a component of lotions and creams, it helps the skin get rid of acne and makes it velvety. Pumpkin seeds and edible cyclantera seeds have an anthelmintic effect.

Pumpkin fruits, tops and old tubers of chayote are used in animal husbandry as feed. Zucchini fruits are also used to feed poultry and some livestock.

Parts of pumpkin plants are also used for non-food purposes. So, hats and mats are woven from the stems of chayote and gourd, and washcloths are made from luffa. Bottle gourds are still used to make dishes, as well as smoking pipes, musical instruments, and souvenirs.

Many plants of the gourd family are climbing vines that can cling to a support with their tendrils. Therefore, some plants (for example, Peruvian cucumber) are used as decorative street bindweeds, to create shady arbors and decorate balconies and walls of buildings.