December 25, 2006	Monday	Zilhaj 03, 1427

CUCUMBER or kheera” in Urdu belongs to the Gourd family. The other popular vegetables, fruits and herbs included in the family are: pumpkins, squashes, snake-gourds, bitter-gourds, musk-melons, melons, water-melons and several other medicinal herbs.

Cucumber is a native of Asia and Africa. The ancient Chinese had known it about 100BC. Early explorers are believed to have introduced it to the America as the Indians grew it from Florida to Canada in the late 16th century.

Cucumber is universally grown in open fields and greenhouses for its palatable immature green fruit that is relished as raw, in cucumber salads, pickles and sometimes cooked in some parts of the world.

Climate & soils: Cucumber loves warm conditions and is grown in Kharif season, although is not a big crop. Yields are better in sandy-loam soils with adequate organic matter and plenty of sun. It is a shallow-rooted crop and can be easily grown in backyards, home-gardens, in open fields and in greenhouses. It is marketed throughout the year.

Sometimes, the cucumber fruits often turns bitter, which is attributed to weather conditions and the temperature fluctuations. Cucumber mosaic virus also renders the green fruit.

Production: According to the official figures, the country produced 15,949 tons of cucumber from 1,251 hectares and 1,461 tons from 839 hectares in 2003-04. Most of the production is accounted for by Balochistan and Sindh. Both the area and production shows a downward trend from 2000-01, presumably due to pest attack and diseases and due to lack of resistant varieties.

The exports of chilled and fresh cucumbers varied from 176 tons in 2000-01 to 2,345 tons in 2003-04 and fetched Rs424,000 and Rs15,035,000.

Nutritive value: Cucumber is not only cooling and palatable to take but it is also quite nutritive. One medium size cucumber provides as much as the following:

Calories = 39

Saturated fat (g) = 09

Cholesterol (mg) = 0

Carbohydrate (g) = 8.3

Dietary fibre (g) = 2.4

Protein (g) = 2.1

Sodium (mg) = 6.00

Potassium (mg) = 433

Calcium (mg) = 42

Iron (mg) = 0.8

Zinc (mg) = 0.6

Vitamin C (mg) = 16

Vitamin A (mg) = 647

Vitamin B (mg) = 0.13

Thiamine (mg) = 0.07

Niacin (mg) = 0.7

Medicinal value: Cucumber purifies blood of acids and toxics. Prevents skin disorders and soothes tired eyes. It allays thirst and removes irritation in urine. If eaten as `salad’ with a cut of intake of bread, it reduces the body weight. It also reduces high blood pressure.

Cucumber contains water and many other nutrients that are essential to keep human health in order. Pakistan’s total production is not much but yet it is included in exports of vegetables. The rising domestic demand of cucumber shows a good potential for increasing production and export. There is a need for introducing high-yielding and disease-resistant varieties.

Cucumber is a short duration crop and it starts coming in the local markets after 40–50 days of sowing. In certain seasons the retail price goes up from Rs20 to Rs30 a kg. Not only the growers can reap benefits of it but it could also be a source of earning foreign exchange for the country by its increased export.

Home-gardeners who are trying to grow it in their backyards have to ensure that the cucumber vines get adequate organic matter, plenty of sun, and protection from the insect pests and viral diseases.