Cucumber

Arabic Name : Khiyaar, Qathadh
Bengali Name : Khira, Shashaa
Chinese Name : Huang kua, Hu kua
English Name : Cucumber
French Name : Concombre
German Name : Gurke
Gujarati Name : Kakdi
Hindi Name : Kheera, Khira, Kakri
Kannada Name : Mullusavte, Sautekayi
Kashmiri Name : La\’aer
Latin name : Cucumis sativus Linn.
Marathi Name : Kakri, Kheera
Persian Name : Khayar, Khayarain, Khiyarza
Punjabi Name : Khira
Sanskrit Name : Sakusa, Kandalu, Trapusa
Urdu Name : Kheera, Kakdi

Cucumber is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family, . It is a creeping vine that bears cylindrical fruits that are used as culinary vegetables. There are three main varieties of cucumber: slicing, pickling, and burp less. Within these varieties, several different cultivators have emerged. The cucumber is originally from Southern Asia, but now grows on most continents. Many different varieties are traded on the global market. In North America, the term "wild cucumber" can refer to plants in the genera Echinocystis and Marsh, but these are not closely related

Description
The cucumber is a creeping vine that roots in the ground and grows up trellises or other supporting frames, wrapping around supports with thin, spiraling tendrils. The plant has large leaves that form a canopy over the fruit. The fruit of the cucumber is roughly cylindrical, elongated with tapered ends, and may be as large as 60 centimeters (24 in) long and 10 centimeters (3.9 in) in diameter. Having an enclosed seed and developing from a flower, botanically speaking, cucumbers are classified as pepoes, a type of botanical berry. Much like tomatoes and squash they are often also perceived, prepared and eaten as vegetables. Cucumbers are usually more than 90% water.

Flowering and pollination
A few cultivars of cucumber are parthenocarpic, the blossoms creating seedless fruit without pollination. Pollination for these cultivars degrades the quality. In the United States, these are usually grown in greenhouses, where bees are excluded. In Europe, they are grown outdoors in some regions, and bees are excluded from these areas.

Most cucumber cultivars, however, are seeded and require pollination. Thousands of hives of honey bees are annually carried to cucumber fields just before bloom for this purpose. Cucumbers may also be pollinated by bumblebees and several other bee species. Most cucumbers that require pollination are self-incompatible, so pollen from a different plant is required to form seeds and fruit. Some self-compatible cultivars exist that are related to the 'Lemon' cultivar.[1] Symptoms of inadequate pollination include fruit abortion and misshapen fruit. Partially pollinated flowers may develop fruit that are green and develop normally near the stem end, but are pale yellow and withered at the blossom end.

Traditional cultivars produce male blossoms first, then female, in about equivalent numbers. Newer gynoecious hybrid cultivars produce almost all female blossoms. They may have a pollenizer cultivar interplanted, and the number of beehives per unit area is increased, but temperature changes induce male flowers even on these plants, which may be sufficient for pollination to occur.