what is pollination !???

[Riz]

salaam..

I feel its really important to know what pollination is and the affect of it.. If you come across some reading on the net regards pollination etc... please paste it up with a link...... If anyone has any questions well we can all chip in and source out credible info and paste it up in this thread..

Riz-




Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the male part of the flower to the female part of a flower. Pollination is of little significance to gardeners when they are growing vegetables for their foliage or roots.

Pollination becomes important when we grow vegetables for their seeds, fruit, or seed pods. Without pollination the seeds and fruit will not develop. Most plants have male and female flowers parts on the same flower and are easily pollinated by wind or insects.

One cause of poor fruit set is too much nitrogen, which can result in mostly vegetative growth. This is especially true with tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers.

Too much shade or not enough light is another cause of poor fruit set. Most fruiting vegetables do best in full sun all day --- they need at least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight.

Extreme temperatures can reduce fruit set. If temperatures during flowering are below 55 degrees or above 90 degrees, the pollen grains of many warm-season vegetables are damaged and become unable to cause pollination.

Another group of plants, vine crops such as cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, cantaloupes, and watermelons have separate male and female flowers. To produce fruit, pollen from the male bloom must be transferred to the female bloom. Insects, mostly bumble bees and honey bees transfer the pollen. Unless the plant is actively producing both male and female bloom or if insects are not working the bloom, pollination and fruit development will not occur.

Corn plants produce a female flower - the silks and a male flower - the tassel. Pollen falls on or is blown by wind to the silk and corn kernels begin to develop. When corn is planted in a single row, inadequate amounts of pollen may reach the silk and poor kernel development results. Its best to plant sweet corn in three or more short rows rather than a single long row.

Many gardeners worry about planting certain crops near one another for fear that insects or wind might deposit foreign pollen on a given vegetable and produce off-flavors or shapes. Two different cultivars of pumpkin can cross-pollinate, but the fruit would be not affected. However, if you saved and plant seeds from these cross-pollinated pumpkins you might get fruits of many different shapes, sizes, and colors. Cucumbers and squash will not cross pollinate each other - there is no effect on flavor when they are grown next to each other.

Corn is the one major exception to the rule. When a yellow and white cultivar that flower at the same time are planted near each other the resulting kernels will be mixed yellow and white. When a supersweet type corn is planted near a traditional corn cultivar, it will not develop its sweet flavor. Pop corn will not pop if it has been pollinated by sweet corn or field corn.

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/quickref/vegetable/veg_pollination.html

[Riz]

Pollination of vegetable plants can be a problem for indoor gardeners because your plants are indoors. It's a common concern for beginners with a greenhouse. Let's take a general look at what pollination is and how we might handle such a task with our indoor gardening.
What is Pollination?
Pollination is part of the reproductive cycle of plants. It involves transferring pollen from male parts of flowers to female parts of flowers to fertilize the plant. Fertilization is essential so the plant can produce seed.
Some plants are self-fertile so they don't need pollen from another plant. Their blossoms can fertilize themselves (within the same flower or from a flower on the same plant). Other plants require cross-pollination where pollen from another similar plant is used to fertilize the flower.
Vegetables like carrots, beets and broccoli are productive in the absence of pollination, because their seed is produced after it provides its food source to us. Vegetables that bear fruit, like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and squash require pollination for the fruit to set, so it's essential that pollination take place.
How are Plants Pollinated?
There are four basic ways that pollination takes place: animal contact; wind; self-pollination, and human assisted pollination. Here are some examples of each type of pollinator at work.
The overwhelming majority of plant pollination is performed by bees as they go about searching for food. Other pollinators include butterflies, moths, flies and birds.
Wind is another good pollinator. Corn is wind pollinated. Pollen is blown by the wind from the tassels on top of the corn plant to the corn silk that hangs out of the end of each ear of corn.
Many types of plants are self-pollinating. Some plants pollinate themselves by having the male portion of the blossom grow into contact with the female portion. This can happen even when the blossom is closed.
When growing plants indoors, the chance of pollination by animals and wind is reduced, so that's where we humans have to get involved to make certain our plants are pollinated. Sometimes it requires a small paint brush, and sometimes we just need to shake the plant a bit or create air circulation to promote pollination.
Pollinating Indoor Vegetables
The easiest approach to indoor pollination is to provide an opening for insects to enter. Bees will naturally find their way into your greenhouse or other indoor growing area if you give them an opportunity.
Tomatoes are mostly self-fertile, yet some have blossoms that don't open, so they can't be pollinated by bees or other insects, and indoors the wind can't get to them. To ensure adequate pollination, just shake the plant lightly every few days after blossoms appear. This will help dislodge pollen inside the blossoms for fertilization that will help set fruit.
Squash plants have both male and female flowers. As soon as the blossoms open, use a small water color paint brush and act as the pollinator. Gently swirl it inside of a male flower to pick up pollen, and then brush it lightly inside the center of the female blossoms (the ones with the fruits on the ends).
An Alternative to Pollination
If you're growing vegetables indoors, you might consider growing cucumbers especially bred for use in a greenhouse. They're known as European greenhouse varieties. They produce nearly all female blossoms, require no pollination, and produce an abundance of seedless cucumbers.
So, there you have it, the basics of pollination for fruit set and seed development. Even indoors nature can accomplish this task, but sometimes it needs a little help. To be on the safe side, I always help along my vegetable plants until I see that an abundance of bees have found their way into the greenhouse to pollinate the plants.

Clair Schwan is an experienced vegetable gardener that grows and harvests a wide range of vegetables all year long in unheated greenhouses of his own design and construction. See his advice and counsel on a range of vegetable gardening and greenhouse gardening topics at http://www.vegetable-gardening-and-greenhouses.com (http://www.vegetable-gardening-and-greenhouses.com/)
Article Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Clair_Schwan


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[Riz]

so when cross pollination occurs its the seeds that get cross pollinated and not the fruit or veg that is growing at that time !!!! ( that will stay the same)

so basically if you collect the seeds and grow them on they wont be the same as the mother plant because the seeds got cross pollinated .. !?

[~Obsidian~]

:goodpost:
WaAlaykum AsSalaam

Riz, sometimes I can't tell whether you are asking or teaching...!?!?!!:p

[Riz]

hehee

just wanted to start a debate :)

[Kirsten]

Hi Flie and welcome :)

Where are you in the US that you still have harvests? I'm jealous!
Tomatoes I just eat off the vine if we have an excess - I love vine-ripened tomatoes and can eat them by the bucketful. Excess cucumbers I usually gave to the neighbors :)

[~Obsidian~]

This year with all this rain- we are having an overabundance of vegetables. When our tomatoes start to ripe- we will have 100s of them ready at the same time.
We are going to can some of these and freeze some too.

This is the first year Im going to try to do something with the green beans. We planted regular bush beans and pole beans- we have so many. I need to pick again today Im thinking freeze them.

What does everyone else do with their extra pickings from gardens?

Hi Flielay! Welcome to muslimgrower :D You could give them to friends and neighbours. I didn't have too much excess this year, the few I did I'm stealing the seeds from, and composting the rest.