White Cucumber Mutation?

organichris · August 26, 2009

Yeah, so I grew cucumbers for the first time this year. I'm not a big fan, but my wife likes them. I guess you could say they were a success, because we grew way more than we could ever eat.

Anyway, the variety I grew is Poinsett 76. The cucumbers were by no means uniform, some of them being shorter with a pointy tip, and others being long. But one cucumber on one of the vines was white. I didn't see any others like it. Is this a mutation of some kind or something else?

My thought is that I might save the seeds from the white cucumber to see whether the trait duplicates itself at all next year. Any thoughts?

mjc · August 26, 2009

Is it one vine or just the one cuke?

If it is just the one cuke it could be just that fruit had something with it.

If it is the vine, it could be a mutation or just a stray seed, as there are several white varieties.

If it wasn't taped off and hand pollinated, the chances of getting 'true seed' are slim to none...it would have been pollinated by any/all open male flowers in its vicinity. Also, to save cuke seeds, you need to let them develop on the vine until way larger than eating. They'll get hard, almost like winter squash and frequently turn some shade of yellow or brown. Then you need to let that fruit go 'mushy'...

If it is the one vine, then you can tape some of the unopened female flowers and hand pollinate them, with pollen from the male flowers on that vine (yeah, a better choice would be if there were two of the same vines and using pollen from one on the other). Then taping the flower closed until it drops (mark the stem...a colored string or ribbon works well). And then let it grow until it is yellow and hard.

organichris · August 26, 2009

To my knowledge, it was just a single fruit on one of the vines. I haven't picked it because I anticipated collecting seed from it. There may be others, but I haven't discovered any. You're probably right that chances are slim that I could reproduce the trait in the next generation, due to all the factors you mentioned. Nevertheless, I think I'll collect the seeds anyway just to see what happens. Thanks for the info.

mjc · August 26, 2009

If that is the only type of cuke you're growing, then you'll get good cukes (as long as it wasn't a hybrid to begin with...if so, then there is no telling what you could end up with). It's just that for most veggies, the 'normal' color/green will be dominant. I'm not sure which and how many genes are going to control the color of the fruit, so I won't take a stab at your chances of getting more white ones, but you should end up with usable cukes anyway, next year.

Wi-sunflower · August 27, 2009

some of them being shorter with a pointy tip,

That will also happen on zucchini. That is a sign that they weren't polinated fully. Usually those will develope a bitter taste so they are supposed to be dropped when picked.

Carol

organichris · August 27, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wi-sunflower

some of them being shorter with a pointy tip,

That will also happen on zucchini. That is a sign that they weren't polinated fully. Usually those will develop a bitter taste so they are supposed to be dropped when picked.

Carol

Really? I haven't noticed any difference in taste. What do you mean by "dropped when picked"?

mjc · August 27, 2009

Discarded...composted...fed to the chickens/pigs/critters

Wi-sunflower · August 27, 2009

Yup that's it.

As a market gardener we don't want to sell stuff we know is questionable at best. We aim to have some of the best stuff so we have return customers.

Carol

organichris · August 28, 2009

Well, I checked that cucumber vine just to be sure, but there were definitely other regular-looking green cucumbers on the same vine. The white one is still there and I still plan on letting it mature so I can collect the seeds. I don't know what will come from it. I do know that Poinsett 76 was hybridized by Cornell University, according to Dave's Garden. As to whether that means it is an F1 hybrid or it was stabilized is unclear to me. Either way I like to experiment with things. If I get no white cucumbers, fine. If I get a bunch of weird-looking, mediocre cucumbers, I don't really care. I'm not much of a cucumber eater. My wife eats them and I give them away.

August 26, 2009	#1
organichris Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Tulsa, OK Posts: 630	White Cucumber Mutation? Yeah, so I grew cucumbers for the first time this year. I'm not a big fan, but my wife likes them. I guess you could say they were a success, because we grew way more than we could ever eat. Anyway, the variety I grew is Poinsett 76. The cucumbers were by no means uniform, some of them being shorter with a pointy tip, and others being long. But one cucumber on one of the vines was white. I didn't see any others like it. Is this a mutation of some kind or something else? My thought is that I might save the seeds from the white cucumber to see whether the trait duplicates itself at all next year. Any thoughts?

August 26, 2009	#2
mjc Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: WV Posts: 603	Is it one vine or just the one cuke? If it is just the one cuke it could be just that fruit had something with it. If it is the vine, it could be a mutation or just a stray seed, as there are several white varieties. If it wasn't taped off and hand pollinated, the chances of getting 'true seed' are slim to none...it would have been pollinated by any/all open male flowers in its vicinity. Also, to save cuke seeds, you need to let them develop on the vine until way larger than eating. They'll get hard, almost like winter squash and frequently turn some shade of yellow or brown. Then you need to let that fruit go 'mushy'... If it is the one vine, then you can tape some of the unopened female flowers and hand pollinate them, with pollen from the male flowers on that vine (yeah, a better choice would be if there were two of the same vines and using pollen from one on the other). Then taping the flower closed until it drops (mark the stem...a colored string or ribbon works well). And then let it grow until it is yellow and hard.

August 27, 2009	#5
Wi-sunflower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 2,591	some of them being shorter with a pointy tip, That will also happen on zucchini. That is a sign that they weren't polinated fully. Usually those will develope a bitter taste so they are supposed to be dropped when picked. Carol

August 28, 2009	#9
organichris Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Tulsa, OK Posts: 630	Well, I checked that cucumber vine just to be sure, but there were definitely other regular-looking green cucumbers on the same vine. The white one is still there and I still plan on letting it mature so I can collect the seeds. I don't know what will come from it. I do know that Poinsett 76 was hybridized by Cornell University, according to Dave's Garden. As to whether that means it is an F1 hybrid or it was stabilized is unclear to me. Either way I like to experiment with things. If I get no white cucumbers, fine. If I get a bunch of weird-looking, mediocre cucumbers, I don't really care. I'm not much of a cucumber eater. My wife eats them and I give them away.