Early Zucchini Argelia

The Early Zucchini (Cucurbita pepo) is a highly valued vegetable from the Cucurbitaceae family, well-known for its easy cultivation. This variety produces fruits in a range of colors, typically light gray-white or green, and various shapes including cylindrical, plump, and round. The immature fruits are the edible part, highly regarded for their digestibility and refreshingly rich vitamin A content.

General Cultivation Tips for Zucchini:

• Prefers loose, deep, and cool soil.
• Propagation is done by seed; sow directly in the field or in seedbeds for transplanting.
• Achieve 1-2 plants/m2 for optimal growth.
• For direct sowing, maintain a spacing of 1-1.60m between ridges and 0.9-1m between plants by sowing 3 seeds per hole.
• In seed trays, plant 1-2 seeds per cell according to germination rates, transplanting when they reach approximately 10cm (15-25 days).

For seed germination, soil temperatures should exceed 18ºC with ideal growth conditions being 25-30ºC. Typically, it takes 40-50 days from planting to harvest, though this can vary based on environmental conditions. This plant has lower thermal requirements compared to melon and cucumber.

It is a light-demanding plant and requires ample nutrients, careful not to introduce excessive nitrogen before flowering.

Water management is crucial for healthy plant development.

The zucchini plants contain both male and female flowers, necessitating cross-planting for proper fruit development, with bees playing a vital role in this process.

Harvest when fruits have not fully matured. Under optimal conditions, yields can reach 30-50 tons per hectare. It is quite resilient but susceptible to ailments such as powdery mildew, spider mites in warm conditions, viral infections, and fruit deformities due to Botrytis, anthracnose, pollination failures, and over-fertilization.

The Early Zucchini Argelia variety features light green fruits speckled with light gray, with a medium short thickness. This variety is highly productive and extremely fast-growing (10 to 15 days earlier than traditional varieties). The zucchinis are exceptionally tender and the plant structure is compact.

Growing Tips: Sow from February to May in clusters, placing 6-8 seeds with a recommendation to soak them beforehand. It is advisable to cover the seeds lightly with mulch. Once well-rooted, thin to maintain only 2-3 plants per cluster.