Today (31/01/23), new cucumber plants arrived at PSKW. The trial starting today will be the last trial by the research station in the Interreg project UV-robot.
Firstly, the results of previous years will be validated by again comparing the UV-treatments (50 J/m², three times a week at night) to a chemical treatment of powdery mildew. Additionally, the UV-treatments will be combined with bio fungicides. In these treatments, not only powdery mildew will be followed up but also beneficial insects and other diseases and pests to validate the side effects of UV-C light.
Secondly, the effect of UV on two different varieties will be examined. Varieties often react different on light circumstances and can thus respond more or less severe on the UV-treatments. The sensitivity of varieties Dee Viate and Sepalin will be compared.
At last, it was observed in the trials previous years that cucumber plants seem more sensitive to UV during darker periods, resulting in a greater loss of production. In this trial, another strategy will be executed in which the dose of UV will be determined based on the available solar light of the day before and after the treatment.
