The Importance of Artificial Pollination- Assisting the wind and the Bees.

Have you ever wondered why your tomato, zucchini and cucumber plants are loaded with blossoms, but produce so little fruit? The answer most often is inadequate pollination. Plant pollination is not an all or none event; rather, the insufficient transfer of pollen from the male to the female component of a plants flower, like a tomato, can result in the production of small deformed fruit as well as the absence of fruit. The same is true for plants like cucumbers and squash, of the gourd family, in which the male and female components of the plant reside in separate flowers. In either case, inadequate pollination can result in small deformed fruit, or no fruit at all. In nature the wind and bees are responsible for pollination and it is for this reason gardeners plant flowering plants, that attract bees, in their vegetable gardens. However, even under ideal conditions, wind and insect pollination often is incomplete resulting in small crops of deformed fruit, especially early in the growing season. Fortunately, the gardener can assist the wind and the bees by taking steps to artificially pollinate the plants in his garden. In the worse case scenario, if plants are grown in an enclosed space like a green house, which shields the plants from the wind and isolates them from bees, the plants will not produce unless artificially pollinated. So, how is artificial pollination accomplished? First lets deal with plants like tomatoes, peppers and eggplant which are self-pollinating because each flower contains male and female sex organs. Lettuce, beans and peas also are self- pollinating but usually do not require assistance to produce a crop. In self-pollinating plants the female stigma is surrounded by the male stamen. An ovary, which ultimately will become the fruit, is attached to the female stigma at the base of the flower. There are several ways to assist the wind and bees pollinate plants that have both female and male sex organs in the same plant. Expensive vibrators like the Electric Bee have been developed to accomplish this task. Battery operated tooth brushes serve the same purpose. To use these mechanical devices simply place their vibrating tips on the stem below a group of flowers and activate the vibrators for a few seconds. Fortunately, you can achieve the same result simply by gently shaking the stem of each group of flowers for a few seconds with the fingers of your hand. Better yet, if you tie your tomatoes, peppers and eggplants to a stake, as I due, simply shake the stake for a few seconds to simultaneously vibrate all of the plants flowers instantaneously. Members of the gourd family, squash, pumpkins, melons and cucumbers are said to be insect-pollinated because each plant contains a female flower and a separate male flower. Pollen must be transferred from the male to the female flower for fertilization to take place. The male flower is easy to identify because the flower is attached directly to the flower's stem. The female flowers have an enlarged area between the flower and its stem. This small mass is the flower's ovary and, if properly fertilized, will develop into a fruit of the plant. To artificially pollinate plants which has separate male and female flowers I use a medium sized round tipped artists brush to transfer pollen from the male flower to the female flower. This is accomplished simply by inserting the tip of the brush into the open end of the male flower; giving the brush a twist or two; and the inserting it into the open ended female flower, again twisting it around several times. The same thing can be accomplished with a Q-tip or some similar device. Since it is somewhat difficult to distinguish between a female and a male flower in a plant like a cucumber, I just go from flower to flower on the plants without regard to whether I am harvesting pollen from a male flower or depositing pollen into a female flower. In this respect, it makes no difference which type of flower you are dealing with as long as the tip of the pollinating tool has pollen on it when it enters the female flower. To achieve the best results, artificial pollination should be carried out daily around noon when the humility is not to high and the temperature is between 60°F and 80°F. I believe you will be amassed at the results that can be achieved by these simple techniques to asset the wind and the bees in your garden. By the way, if your plants are not producing flowers they, of course, cannot be pollinated. In this case, the problem most likely is a result of a phosphorous deficiency in the soil, so the answer is to fertilize them with a fertilizer rich in phosphorous