9. Influence of the pruning during the vegetation period on the biological behavior of cucumbers cultivated in unheated plastic houses. II. Economic productivity of the plants and qualitative characteristics of the fruits

The experiments were set in unheated plastic houses during the period 2007-2009. The effect of the short and long pruning of the first-order offshoots was tested by the Bulgarian salad cultivar Gergana. It was established that the pinching of the vegetation top of the branchings after a formation of 2 leaves (up to 1 m height of the central stem) and after a formation of 3 leaves (over 1 m height of the central stem) provoked the highest total yield of the standard fruits without changes in their market characteristics and biological value.