At one time, people liked to rumor to each other that cucumbers with flowers and thorns were the freshest, and at that time, other cucumbers "without flowers and hats" almost cried out in the landfill, because people stopped buying them. But then we heard that these cucumbers could be prickly because of plant hormones, and then switched to cucumbers with "hats" and cried out. So the cucumber with thorns on the top flower is played hormone? Super brother today to give you a truth!

Answer Sneak Peek:

Cucumbers with spiky top flowers are not always hormonally treated; cucumbers can form spiky top flowers when they grow naturally.

[Natural source of the "spiky" cucumber.]

In the winter and spring planted cucumber because of the lower temperatures, short sunshine, weak light and other reasons, cucumber plants will produce more female flowers, resulting in no male pollination, so the female flowers appeared unisexual fruiting, that is, there is no pollination of the ovary directly into the melon body. However, such a melon body often does not have a full seed, and therefore the growth and development of the melon body is extremely slow, and usually does not grow very large. You can compare the cucumber with or without flowers to clearly know that the general cucumber with flowers is not as big as the cucumber without flowers. In addition, the plant in the seedling period and early fruiting temperature is too high water evaporation, or improper supply of fertilizer and water will also lead to cucumber "top flower with thorns" [1].

[Why the hormones?

In fact, it can be said that cucumber "top flower with thorns" is a physiological "disease", it will seriously reduce the yield of cucumbers and fruit weight, for growers is a great loss. SoMany growers spray plant growth regulators, also known as plant hormones, to stimulate fruit development. These hormones can not only make the cucumber has not been pollinated on the fruit continue to fully expand growth, increase fruit weight, but also maintain or induce cucumbers to appear "top flower with thorns" beauty!. And one of the most commonly used is -clopyralidIt is a new type of low-toxicity plant growth regulator, which can promote bud differentiation, fruit preservation, flower preservation and fruit enlargement. Not only is it a plant hormone that is allowed to be used in many crops in China, but it is also registered for use in the United States, Japan, the European Union and other countries.

(Pictured here is the fate of a cucumber without hormones)

[Safety of clopyralid in cucumber]

Experimentally, it has been proved that when used at the recommended dosage, chloropyrifos residues in fruits are very small whereas if used in excess, it tends to be extremely counterproductive, with melons appearing misshapen, so if you are really worried, you can refrain from buying cucumbers with strange fruit shapes [3].

According to the data [2], by spraying cucumbers with high dose of 0.1% clopyralid soluble liquid diluted 13.3 times with water in the test areas of Changsha, Hunan, Kunming, Yunnan, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, and Tanyuzhou, Hainan, the residues in cucumbers after 7 days were all lower than the U.S. limit for maximum residues of clopyralid in raw fruits - 0.01 milligrams per kilogram. And the permissible daily intake of clopyralid in humans is 0.077 mg per kilogram of body weight per person per day [4]. That is, for a 100-pound teenage girl, the permissible daily intake of clopyralid is 3.85 milligrams. If ingested by cucumbers alone, you might have to eat385 kgof cucumbers. It was impossible to eat, soThere is no need to worry about whether the cucumber has been given hormones, because even if it has, it is not in doses that are harmful to our health.

[Summary]

Cucumbers with spurs do not mean that they are hormone-loaded, as cucumbers can form spurs in a certain growing environment. However, it is possible that some cucumbers have been treated with clopyralid to trigger the development of "topiary thorns" or to promote the growth of naturally flowering cucumbers. However, the residue level is very low and eating such cucumbers is not hazardous to human health.

Any other food questions? Feel free to ask."Chao's Food"Oh!

References:

[1] ZHAO Shenyang, XING Zuoshan, ZI Ziqin, et al. Causes and prevention of cucumber 'flower topping'[J]. China Rural Xiaokang Science and Technology,2004,(2):15,16. DOI:10.3969/j.issn.1007-7774.2004.02.013.

[2] LI Jia,GONG Daoxin. Residue analysis of clopyralid in soil and cucumber[J]. Hunan Agricultural Science,2010,(5):84-87. DOI:10.3969/j.issn.1006-060X.2010.05.029.

[3] Zhao Jianyuan. Is the cucumber with thorns on the top flower smeared with birth control pills[J]. Agricultural Knowledge, 2016(26):63-63.

[4] LI Ruijuan, YU Jianbian, SONG Guochun. Progress of research on the environmental behavior of clopyralid and its safety[J]. Pesticides, 2008, 47(4):240-243.

Author: Feng Chunmei Zhao Lichao

Cucumber, daily life is very familiar with the "vegetables", can be eaten raw, can also be cooked to eat; because of its attractive color, taste fresh, has always been very popular among you; however, about it, there are some things that can not be said, the rumor is that: "top flower with thorns of the cucumber is abnormal, may have birth control pills! May have hit the birth control pill!" Recently, there have also been rumors about "curved cucumbers", which are caused by the use of plant stimulants. Do these problems really exist? Do they really need birth control pills? And what is estrogen? Here's what you need to know about cucumbers.

Rumor has it that "cucumbers with thorns on the top" are hormonal and cause precocious puberty in children?

Rumors in the community that the cucumber's top flower with thorns is entirely due to the growth process of spraying plant hormones, and plant hormones can lead to premature sexual maturity in children; in fact, for plant hormones, and will not play any role in regulating the body, change the physical characteristics of the role of the body. The reason for this is that plant hormones are only a kind of active substances produced by plant cells and regulate the physiological responses of plants at low concentrations, in fact, hormones are plant growth regulators added during plant cultivation; these substances are similar to plant hormones, which are mainly synthesized to regulate the growth and development of plants; there is a problem here, please make it clear: plant hormones and animal hormones are not the same.

In principle, there is a prerequisite for a hormone to work in the body: there must be a specific receptor in the cell where the hormone acts that can be assembled with it; however, in the case of the human body, there is no receptor for plant hormones, which means that plant hormones do not have any effect on the human body.

Another thing you should be aware of: it's not the case that a cucumber with spiny top flowers means it's definitely been given hormones:

For cucumber, "top with flowers" is sometimes a normal phenomenon; cucumber flowers are usually persistent flowers, which may not necessarily fall off immediately after pollination is completed during the growth process (continue to "top with flowers for a certain period of time"); in addition, in the process of growing cucumbers in modern agriculture, in order to prevent the young fruits from falling off, "antiflowering agent" will be applied to the stalks of the young fruits if it is accidentally spilled during the operation. In addition, modern agriculture in the process of planting cucumbers, generally in order to prevent the young fruits from falling off, but also additional in the young fruit of the fruit stalk part of the coating "anti-falling pigment", the operation process if it is accidentally sprinkled on top of the flowers, it is easy to make the "small flowers" tightly adhere to the top of the cucumber, or even not fall off at all. If the flowers are accidentally sprinkled, they will easily stick to the top of the cucumber, and will not even fall off at all.

The general ingredient of "anti-fallout" is "p-chlorophenoxyacetic acid", a plant hormone, and spraying anti-fallout has become a standard procedure in the cultivation of cucumbers. However, please be assured that this substance is not used in large quantities and is not harmful to the body.

Having said that, you should be clear: cucumber "topiary" is not necessarily due to the application of plant hormones, but probably due to normal procedures in the growth process.

Can birth control pills also act as plant hormones?

Some people say that birth control pills are also hormones, can also play the role of "plant growth regulation", in fact, is not correct. Plant growth regulators are mainly used to regulate plant growth and development, only for the role of plants; and contraceptive pills in the structure, target and mechanism of action is completely different, and can not play a direct role, the same reason for the use of "estrogen" is also a rumor. Therefore, the article or video of "cucumber coated contraceptive pill" in the jungle is purely sensationalized, please look at it scientifically.

For plant growth regulators, that is, the so-called plant hormones, in fact, we need to be more objective, the development of modern agriculture can not be separated from this kind of material, just like life we often hear of "ethylene and gibberellin", our country for the use of plant growth regulators have clear management regulations, in the use of the category and the amount of strict limitations; not to mention that for plants, it plays a very important role (to promote growth, improve yield, enhance value), harmless to the human body, please rest assured and "rational" treatment. Our country has clear management regulations for the use of plant growth regulators, in the use of categories and dosage to make a strict limit; not to mention that for plants, it plays a very important role (promote growth, improve yield, enhance value), harmless to the human body, please rest assured and "rational" treatment.

The talk of cucumbers coated with birth control pills and causing premature maturity in children has finally broken down, and you are advised to eat cucumbers with confidence for a home grown ingredient like cucumbers; pick them appropriately and buy fresh and better tasting cucumbers:

Look for the "thorns" to recognize freshness:

By observing the cucumber's "thorns" can be properly distinguished from its freshness, generally fresh cucumber skin with thorns, gently touch will fall off; if no thorns (no mechanical damage from the outside world in the case) or more sparse and the fruit is soft and rotten, it proves that this cucumber is not very fresh.

Know the shape and share the taste:

Cucumbers with straight, slender and uniform fruits are relatively tender and have more water; when selecting, it is recommended that you do not choose cucumbers with large and hollow fruits, which usually have a poor texture, dry flavor and no water.

Cucumber, and then the common ingredients, always be concerned, and always emerging from the fresh remarks, said so far, "the use of contraceptives" does not exist, leading to precocious puberty belongs to the rumor that the plant hormones cause cancer and malformation is also not reliable; attention to health is good, but we must distinguish between right and wrong, to the false and keep the true, the next, please rest assured that the food cucumber, don't be not Scientific statements delayed the "health".