North Carolina State University Cucumber Germplasm and Cultivar Releases, 1957 to 1988

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Cucurbit Genetics Cooperative Report 18:3-4 (article 2) 1995

Todd C. Wehner and Richard L. Lower
Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7609, North Central Regional Association of State Agricultural Experiment Station Directors, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706

North Carolina State University has had a breeding program on cucumber (Cucumis Sativus L.) for four decades. After the initial work on slicing cucumbers in the 1950s, there was a lull in the program until R.L. Lower was hired in 1968, working mainly on pickling cucumbers. The main objectives have been to expand our knowledge of cucumber genetics and breeding, educate graduate students interested in vegetable breeding, do research on problems affecting the cucumber industry, and develop improved cultivars and breeding lines of pickling and slicing types for use in North Carolina and the U.S.

The cucumbers released through the North Carolina Agricultural Research Service have generally been accompanied by germplasm release notices, and the more recent ones have also been published in scientific journals (1,2). However, some releases have not been documented in journals, so our intent was to describe the releases here.

The cultivars and breeding lines were developed using backcross and pedigree breeding methods. Of the 22 releases, 11 were open-pollinated or inbred lines and 11 were hybrids (Table 1). Since 1957, there have been 3 cultivars of slicing cucumbers and 7 breeding lines and 12 cultivars of pickling cucumbers released to the industry. Significant progress has been made for yield, earliness, fruit quality and disease resistance, and some releases combine all of those with general adaptation (‘Calypso’ and ‘Sampson’). Inbreds have been released with useful combinations of traits: ‘Addis’ combined high performance with long, dark-green fruits; ‘Clinton’ added blocky fruit shape, small seedcell and slow seed development; Gy 4 added high yield and high anthracnose resistance; and M 21 had long fruits, high yield, high anthracnose resistance, and determinate plant type.

Table 1. North Carolina State University cucumber cultivars and breeding lines.z

Cultigen name

Release date

Developer name

Important traits

Parents or pedigree
Slicer cultivars (open pollinated)
Smoothie 1957 Jenkins General adaptation Cubit x PR 39
Ashe 1959 Barham, Winstead DM, scab Highmoor, Palmetto, SC 14, Ashley
Fletcher 1959 Barham, Winstead Dm, scab Highmoor, Stono
Pickling inbreds
M41 1974 Lower AL, An, DM, PM SC 601, SC 604, NCARS lines
Addis (M 11) 1974 Lower AL, An , DM, PM high yield, long fruit SC 19B x Pixie x NBCARS lines
Clinton (M 24) 1978 Lower Al, An, DM, PM, scab, CMV, blocky fruit shape SCAES lines x NCARS lines
Gy 2 1978 Lower Blocky fruit shape Gy 3 x Chipper x NCARS lines
M 21 1978 Lower Al, An, DM, PM, de, high yield (Poinsett x Pixie) x (Sc 19B x NH Tiny Dill)
M 27 1978 Lower Al, An, DM, PM, de SCAES x NH x MSU x NCARS lines
Gy 4 1987 Wehner, Lower Al, An, DM, PM, scab, CMV, high yield Double Yield, SC 22, SC 19B, GY 14A
Gy 5 1987 Wehner, Lower Al, An, DM, PM, scab, CMV, high yield Gy 3, P 59, SC 791
Pickling hybrids
Sampson* 1975 Lower Long-harvest season Addis x M 41
Calypso 1976 Lower General adaptation Gy 14A x Addis
Liberty* 1977 Lower Home garden Wisconsin SMR 18 x M 41
Calico 1978 Lower Blocky, dark green fruits w/small seedcell Gy 2 x Clinton
G-29 (Regal) 1978 Lower High yield, long fruit Gy 14A x M 21
G 30 1978 Lower High yield, long fruit Gy 2 x M 21
Southern Belle 1978 Lower Early yield Gy 2 x M 27
Fremont 1984 Wehner, Staub TLS WI 1983G x Clinton
Raleigh 1987 Wehner, Lower High yield Gy 5 x M 21
Johnston 1987 Wehner, Lower High yield, long fruit Gy 5 x M 21
Endeavor 1988 Wehner, Staub TLS WI 2870G x Clinton

z AL = angular leafspot resistant; An = anthracnose resistant; DM = downy mildew resistant; PM = powdery mildew resistant; TLS = target leafspot resistant; de = determinate plant type; AES = Agricultural Experiment Station; MSU = Michigan State University; NC = North Carolina; NH = New Hampshire; SC = South Carolina.
*Monoecious hybrid.

Literature Cited

  1. Lower, R.L., T.C. Wehner and S.F. Jenkins, Jr. 1991. Gy 4 cucumber inbred and ‘Raleigh’ hybrid pickling cucumber, HortScience 26: 77-78.
  2. Wehner, T.C., S.F. Jenkins, Jr., and R.L. Lower. 1991. Gy 5 cucumber inbred and ‘Johnston’ hybrid pickling cucumber. HortScience 26: 78-79.