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Re: hand pollination

In a message dated 8/14/98 11:42:16 AM Eastern Daylight Time, raven@sedona.net
writes:

> anyone know the details of how to hand pollinate?  my squash need help.
>  
>  thanks.

   Squash pollination is very easy to do by hand since the flower is large and
the pollen bright yellow.

    Pick a male blossom (the one without the ovary (tiny incipient fruit) at
the base), take off the petals. Go to a female blossom on ANOTHER plant and
"tickle the stigma (the sticky tip of the pistil) with the stamens from the
male blossom. (Try not to blush.) Move the flower around so that all surfaces
of the stigma get pollen.

    Alternatively you can use a small artist brush or q-tip, or even your
finger.

    If you only have one plant, you need to "borrow" a few male flowers from
another squash grower.

    Do hand pollination early in the day. The pollen is quite fragile, and
excessive heat or dryness will kill it.

Pollination symptoms:
1.  female flower drop = no viable pollen delivered to the flower
2.  fruit forms but molds and does not continue development = a few viable
grains delivered, but only enough to fertilize a few of the ovules.
3.  fruit forms but is slow to grow and may be deformed, flesh can be soft or
wrinkled - a few more grains, but still not sufficient to make a quality
fruit.
4.  fruit forms and grows quickly to marketable size, crisp and high quality =
more than 80% of the ovules are fertilized -- the chemicals needed for growth
are released at pollination.

    The surface of the stigma is sort of "mapped" and a pollen grain that
lands on a particular point will grow a tube to a particular ovule (think of
the female corn flower - the silk to get the idea). If one side of the stigma
does not receive any pollen, that corresponding section of the fruit is not
fertilized and will not grow. This is the primary reason for deformed cukes,
squash & melons.

   Pollinator@aol.com     Dave Green  Hemingway, SC  USA
The Pollination Scene:  http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
The Pollination Home Page http://www.pollinator.com

Jan's Sweetness and Light Shop    (Varietal Honeys and Beeswax Candles)
http://users.aol.com/SweetnessL/sweetlit.htm
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