Assessment of Hybrid Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) under On-Farm Testing in Siddharthnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is an economically important vegetable crop widely cultivated in Siddharthnagar district, Uttar Pradesh, India. However, smallholder farmers in the region continue to obtain suboptimal yields because of their reliance on traditional open-pollinated varieties, particularly the locally preferred Faizabadi cultivar. Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Siddharthnagar conducted on-farm trials during 2022, 2023 and 2024 to compare improved hybrid cucumber varieties with the prevailing farmer practice. In 2022, the hybrid variety Testy produced 210 q/ha compared with 155 q/ha under Faizabadi, giving a 26.2% yield advantage. Its benefit-cost ratio was 3.00, compared with 2.73 under farmer practice. In 2023 and 2024, Kashi Nootan, sourced from ICAR-IIVR, Varanasi, recorded 168.60 q/ha, while Faizabadi recorded 95.54 q/ha, indicating a 76.47% yield improvement. Average fruit weight increased from 140 g under farmer practice to 210 g under Kashi Nootan. The net return under Kashi Nootan was Rs. 1,74,760/ha compared with Rs. 74,864/ha under farmer practice, and the benefit-cost ratio increased from 1.95 to 2.83. The findings indicate that improved hybrid cucumber varieties, particularly Kashi Nootan, can improve yield, fruit weight and economic returns under irrigated smallholder conditions in Siddharthnagar. Further on-farm evaluation across seasonal and agro-climatic conditions is needed to identify suitable cultivar combinations for wider recommendation.