Poinsette
A well-known American open-pollinated slicing cucumber, sold in India for decades. It tolerates both downy and powdery mildew, and you can save seed from it.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Cucumber
- Type
- Open-pollinated
- Season
- Zaid / summer
- Maturity period
- 55–60 days
- Expected yield
- 100–120 q/ha
- Suitable soil
- Loam
- Disease resistance
- Downy and powdery mildew tolerant
- Release
- Bred at Clemson University, South Carolina, USA, by Carroll Barnes in the 1950s–60s; brought to India by the National Seeds Corporation (the Indian year was not found)
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
Poinsette, as sold in India, is the American open-pollinated slicing cucumber Poinsett. It was bred at Clemson University, South Carolina, USA, by Carroll Barnes in the 1950s–60s, and the National Seeds Corporation brought it to India. It is listed as tolerant to anthracnose, powdery mildew, downy mildew and angular leaf spot. Indian seed sellers usually sell the older Poinsett line under this name. The later Poinsett 76 (1976) has almost the same fruit and disease cover.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Poinsette if you want a long-established, open-pollinated slicing cucumber that tolerates downy and powdery mildew, and you want to save seed. The summary above gives 55–60 days and 100–120 q/ha. Choose Pusa Uday if you farm near Delhi and want a variety listed 28% above Poinsette in release trials. Choose Pusa Barkha if you mainly sow in the monsoon. Choose Poona Khira only if your market buys the russet heirloom type.
Sowing & cultivation
Pest & disease considerations
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- A broad disease-tolerance list for an open-pollinated variety
- Open-pollinated, so seed can be saved from season to season
- Known to farmers and seed sellers across India for decades
Things to consider
- Indian seed catalogues usually do not separate the original Poinsett from the later Poinsett 76. The two are almost the same in fruit and disease cover, so the name difference matters little in practice
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Punjab
- Haryana
- Uttar Pradesh
Use Poinsette as your yardstick for newer cucumbers
Poinsette is the check variety used for Pusa Uday in the national checklist. Pusa Uday is listed at 155 q/ha, 28% above it. Dividing 155 by 1.28 puts Poinsette near 121 q/ha in that trial.
That makes Poinsette a good control for your own test. Sow a strip of Poinsette next to the new variety on the same day, on the same soil, with the same water. Pick both on the same days and weigh them.
If the new variety is not at least 10% ahead on your land, stay with Poinsette. It is cheap, you know how it behaves, and you can save its seed.
Can you keep your own planting material?
This is an open-pollinated variety, so seed from a healthy crop of your own can be sown again. Keep seed only from disease-free plants, dry it properly, store it cool and dry, and bring in fresh certified seed every three to four years so the variety does not drift.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Cucumber variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poinsettethis page | The classic open-pollinated slicing cucumber, tolerant to both mildews, with seed you can save | 55–60 days | 100–120 q/ha | Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh |
| Poona Khira | A traditional Pune heirloom cucumber with a colour-changing skin and mild, crisp flesh for the local salad trade | 60–65 days | 100–130 q/ha | Maharashtra |
| Pusa Barkha | The extra-early, downy-mildew-resistant rainy-season cucumber, with first harvest in 40–45 days | 40–45 days to first harvest | About 18.8 t/ha in the rainy season | Delhi, Uttar Pradesh |
| Pusa Uday | An early cucumber for both spring-summer and the rainy season, listed 28% above Poinsette in the NCR | 50–55 days to first pick | About 15.5 t/ha | Delhi, Uttar Pradesh |
| Swarna Ageti | An early, long-fruited cucumber from ICAR-RCER, with 30–32.5 t/ha and tolerance to powdery mildew | First harvest 45–50 days after sowing | 30–32.5 t/ha | Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh |
| Swarna Poorna | A heavier, 300 g cucumber from ICAR-RCER, with 30–35 t/ha and tolerance to powdery mildew | First harvest 55–60 days after sowing | 30–35 t/ha | Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Cucumber is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Cucumber plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Germination CalculatorTest 100 seeds from the bag before sowing and see whether the lot is fit to sow.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Cucumber variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Cucumber into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Cucumber in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Cucumber rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Cucumber seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
Is Poinsette an Indian-bred variety?
No. It was bred at Clemson University, South Carolina (USA), by Carroll Barnes in the 1950s–60s, and the National Seeds Corporation brought it to India.
Is Poinsette the same as "Poinsett 76" sold in some seed catalogues?
Almost. Poinsett 76 is a later (1976) open-pollinated selection from the same line, with improved disease cover. The fruit and disease cover are close, so plain Poinsette is the older line of the same family.
Can I save Poinsette seed?
Yes, it is open-pollinated. Leave a few of the best, healthiest fruits on the vine until they are over-ripe and yellow, then take out the seed, wash it and dry it in shade. Keep the plot away from other cucumber varieties.
Poinsette or Pusa Uday: which gives more?
The national checklist says Pusa Uday gave 28% more than Poinsette in the release trials, with 50–55 days and 155 q/ha for the NCR. On your farm the gain may be smaller, so sow a strip of each and weigh the fruit.
What yield should I plan on for Poinsette?
The summary above gives 100–120 q/ha. The Pusa Uday figures (155 q/ha, 28% above Poinsette) point to about 121 q/ha in that release trial, so that figure is reasonable. Plan on the lower end for a first crop.
Is Poinsette good for the rainy season?
It tolerates downy and powdery mildew, which are the main rainy-season problems for cucumber, so it copes better than a variety with no cover. But Pusa Barkha was bred for the monsoon, with 40–45 days to first harvest, so look at it first if you sow mainly in the rains.
Sourced from: Vegetable Cultivar Descriptions for North America — Cucumber (A–I) — NC State Cucurbit Breeding, Downy Mildew Resistance — NC State Cucurbit Breeding, Best Cucumber Varieties Available in Indian Market — Krishi Jagran, Poinsett 76 Cucumber — Seedgro, Checklist of Commercial Varieties of Vegetables (capsicum, carrot, cucumber, bottle gourd, bitter gourd) — TNAU Agritech national bulletin. editorial policy.