EVALUATION OF ORIENTAL TRELLIS CUCUMBERS FOR PRODUCTION IN NORTH-CAROLINA

Eighteen cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) cultivars (15 oriental trellis and three standard American slicers) were grown on trellis and flat-be d production systems during the spring and summer seasons of 1995. Vin e, flower, fruit quality, keeping ability, and yield traits were measu red. Vine length, incidence of powdery mildew, fruit shape, fruit qual ity, fruit firmness, yield of Fancy plus No. 1 grade slicer fruits, ma rketable yield, and percentage of culled fruits were all higher when c ultivars were grown on trellis support. Anthracnose damage, fruit leng th, fruit diameter, average fruit mass, fruit color, overall impressio n, fruit shriveling, seedcell size, branch number, percentage of stami nate nodes, and total yield were not significantly affected by product ion system. The best cultivars for marketable yield (mass of Fancy, No . 1 and 2 grade slicers) were 'Summer Top', 'Tasty Bright', and 'Sprin t 440' on trellis support and 'Sprint 440' and 'Poinsett 76' on flat b ed. The cultivars with the best fruit quality were 'Tasty Bright', 'Su mmer Top', and 'Sprint 440' on trellis and 'Poinsett 76', 'Sprint 440' , and 'Tasty Bright' on flat bed. The best cultivars overall on the tr ellis production system were 'Sprint 440', 'Summer Top', 'Tasty Bright ', and '89-211', and the worst were 'Sky Horse', 'Hongzhou Green 55', and 'Fengyan'. The best cultivars overall on the flat bed were 'Poinse tt 76', 'Sprint 440', and '89-211', while the worst cultivars were 'Sk y Horse' and 'Hongzhou Green 55'.