Squash & Pumpkin
Pollination
Visual Aids
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Male and Female The female flower has an ovary, which looks like a little squash (which is what it does become) at the base.The lower example is the male, which is just on a stalk. Below are the flowers with petals removed to show the internal structure. |
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When Not Enough Bees Visit the Blossoms....
Below are some pictures of inadequately pollinated squash, which begins to develop, then aborts. A fungus is usually present, but it is an opportunist, not the cause of the problem. Note how many of the fruits are wrinkled, as well. With the decline of pollinator populations in recent years, this has become a common gardener complaint. Many gardeners think pollination is not the problem, because fruit started development, so they spray fungicides -- an exercise in futility. One bee visit will not usually make a quality squash, because not enough pollen is delivered. There needs to be enough pollen grains for each incipient seed -- and that takes many bee visits.
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Hand Pollination Pictoral
The Melon Man does hand pollination on watermelons Click on his pictures for
enlargements
Hand Pollinating Pumpkins
at the Pumpkin Nook
Hand pollinating
squash at Purdue
