Sickly cucumbers cured by aspirin

DUTCH FARMERS whose slow-growing cucumbers have been causing them headaches may have found a solution - aspirin. For the cucumbers, that is.

Scientists with the respected Dutch research institute TNO have discovered that feeding aspirin to young cucumber plants helps to prevent thickening of the root walls. Plants with thick root walls absorb water and minerals less easily, causing slower growth.

"Aspirin doesn't remove the cause of the thickening, but it reduces the level of damage," Sjoukje Heimovaara, a plant physiologist told the Algemeen Dagblad newspaper.

Aspirin contains an acid also made naturally by plants for protection. No trace of the aspirin, which was fed to plants in a solution, was found in the cucumbers themselves.

A Dutch farmers' organisation is investigating whether the active ingredient in aspirin can be registered for use to protect their cucumbers. Until it is, farmers will not be allowed to prescribe it to their plants.

Researchers are planning to extend their experiment to aubergines and tomatoes.