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Re: Female cucumbers

In a message dated 98-03-19 01:05:06 EST, Meconella@aol.com (Meconella) wrote:

<< Are you saying the fruits produced on these 'female' only plants are
seedless,
 that is,  the seeds just dont develop and remain small and tender?  And the
 fruits reach 'normal' size?
 
 And to someone like me who has already cukes in the ground of a traditional
 variety--straight 8-- that the fruit on these can be improved by removing all
 the male flowers so pollination doesnt occur?  I'd hate to lose my small crop
 by removing all the male flowers,  but the result sounds interesting. >>

   Allen seems to be referring to parthenocarpic cucumbers, usually grown in a
greenhouse which can exclude bees. Parthenocarpic cukes become bitter, if they
are pollinated.

   Just the opposite is needed for traditional varieties, which require good
pollination. Many folks think of pollination as an on/off switch: the bee goes
to the blossom and the fruit forms. But one bee visit is rarely enough. You
want to guarantee that plenty of compatible pollen is smeared across every
part of the stigma. Your aim is to get the bee into the blossom many times.

   If you do not get complete pollination, ie most of the seeds set, you get
deformed fruit (your "Straight Eights" won't be very straight!).

    Stand still in your blooming cucumber patch on a nice day at mid morning.
If you can't spot 50 bees/minute  (of any kind) moving to a flower, you need
to augment the bee supply.

    This has been done in cucumber fields for years (one hive per acre is
recommended). I used to think that small growers and gardeners would always
have enough bees, but pollinator populations have crashed so badly in some
areas that even small gardens often show signs of inadequate pollination.

    Gardeners need to be alert to this, to recognize the symptoms of
inadequate pollination and be prepared to remedy it.

    Sometimes the gardener is partly responsible.  Around here, you commonly
see blooming butter bean (limas) plastered with Sevin dust. This is a
violation of the label directions, and it kills the pollinators.

    More often the culprit is massive misuse. Aerial applications for
mosquitoes/gypsy moths/medflies, or application on blooming cotton, during the
morning, when bees are active, or application in orchards where they allow
clover to bloom under the trees. All of these are misuse situations -
violation of the label directions - but it is often done, and it is
devastating to pollinator populations, whether directly, by killing wild and
domestic bees, or indirectly, by driving beekeepers out of business.

    New pests and diseases are also affecting bee populations. Some of these
are exotic pests, as the varroa in honeybees. This came from Asia, to afflict
the European bees which have no resistance.

   But there are other pests which are native and the bees used to keep them
in balance. Perhaps general environmental degradation has reduced their
resistance.        ---Ozone (or ozone depletion in the upper atmosphere), acid
rain, traces of chemical contaminates, who knows exactly why?

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

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