Step by step hand pollination of cucurbits to improve fruit set when bee activity is low.
How to do hand pollination of pumpkin and bottle gourd in the early morning?
PPrem Thakur5 महीने पहले · 262 व्यू
4 जवाब
🌾Farmer.in Krishi Teamविशेषज्ञ ✓5 महीने पहले
Hand pollination is useful in pumpkin, bottle gourd and other cucurbits when bees are few, in early or off season crops, or for hybrid seed work. Do it in the early morning soon after flowers open, when pollen is fresh, since the flowers last only that morning. Pick a freshly opened male flower, remove its petals, and gently brush its pollen bearing centre onto the stigma of a freshly opened female flower (the one with a small fruit at its base). One male flower can pollinate two or three female flowers. Mark or note pollinated flowers and avoid spraying insecticide during flowering. Ask your KVK for the best timing in your local climate, as it shifts with temperature.
SSuresh Verma5 महीने पहले
In my hill garden bees are few in the cool mornings, so I hand pollinate pumpkin around 7 am. The set improved a lot and the fruits are more uniform now.
RRoshan Lal5 महीने पहले
In my Solan plot bees are scarce in the cool mornings so I hand pollinate bottle gourd around 7 to 8 am. The set and uniformity both improved clearly.
DDinesh Chauhan5 महीने पहले
A small caution: do not spray any insecticide during the flowering hours. I sprayed once in the morning and lost the few bees I had, the set dropped that week.