How do gourds pollinate

The cropland must be well-drained and aerated. The extreme climate is unsuitable for snake gourd cultivation. Snake gourd requires bees or insects to help in the pollinating process for setting fruits.

The hand pollination process can be done when flowering is active during the daytime. The male flowers are fully open before sunrise and that is the best time for hand pollination. Snake gourd wants insects to carry out the pollinating process for setting fruits. To ensure a good pollination process, manual pollination can be resorted to, by picking up male flowers and transferring pollens to female flowers.

And introducing beehives can do away with the need for hand pollination. Bottle gourd plant is an important crop grown throughout in northeastern region. The plant has a trailing habit and the fruit in green stage and leaves with stem are used as vegetables.

The tribal community uses hard shells as utensils and for the preparation of musical instruments. The fruit pulp is a good source of fiber-free carbohydrates. Sandy loamy soils rich in organic matter with good drainage and the pH ranges from 6. This crop wants a moderately warm temperature. Bottle gourd produces both male flowers and female flowers.

The white flowers bloom at night and they drop off after pollination. The female flower develops into bottle gourd, and this sets them apart from their male counterparts.

Sometimes, none of the female flowers generate fruits but drop off without growing into a bottle gourd. This is due to the failure of pollination. The pollination process depends on bees. In general, if the pollination does not occur, the female flower will produce initially but fall off later. So if a garden is lack of bees you should go for hand pollination.

Incase if you miss this: How to Prepare Vermiwash. Hand pollination process can be done by using a soft brush. Run the soft brush on the opened male flower and on to the female flower. Repeat the procedure for about 2 to 3 days. Both flowers look similar but male flower grows on long peduncle and female flower on short peduncle however it has an ovary in the shape of the fruit. Ridge Gourd popularly known as Loofa in many countries, is a pulpy vegetable and belongs to the Cucumber family.

It is tastier and generally used in day to day cooking in India. The warm and humid climate is favorable for plant growth and development. Ridge gourd plants can be grown in all kinds of soil but loam, clay loam, and silt soil are best suited for its cultivation. Proper drainage is highly useful.

A ridge gourd produces both male and female flowers. The female flower develops into ridge gourd, and this sets them apart from their male counterparts. Sometimes, none of the female flowers make fruits but drop off without growing into a ridge gourd. This is mainly due to the failure of the pollination process. Ridge gourd produces different male and female flowers. The female flowers contain a small fruit attached to its bottom while male flowers do not have the fruit. Pollination is mainly done by bees.

In case you do not get bees in your garden you want to hand pollinate the flowers. Hand pollination is simple. Just pluck a healthy male flower and then remove its petals gently without disturbing its stamen.

And now rub the stamen gently on the stigma of the female flower. You can use a single male flower to pollinate 2 to 3 female flowers. You may also check the Cost of Cultivation of Avocado. The vines of sponge gourd attain a height of about 30 feet or more. The fruits of sponge gourd plants are cylindrical in shape and outer skin is smooth green. The fruit contains white inner flesh which is a fibrous and similar flavor too bitter melon. And it is grown in a variety of soil types. The flowers are found in the axils of the leaves.

The flowers can be easily distinguished from each other as the female flowers have small, immature fruits at their bases.

In order for fruit set to occur, pollen from the male flower must be transferred to the female flower. Honeybees are the principal means by which pollen is transferred from the male flower to the female flower.

The part of the lesson about "bees". Since they have a similar flowering habit, bloom about the same time, and are members of the same plant family, it is logical that gardeners might assume that squash, melons, and cucumbers will cross-pollinate. Fortunately, however, this is not true.

The female flowers of each crop can be fertilized only by pollen from male flowers of the same species. Cross pollination, however, can occur between varieties within a species. Cross pollination can be seen in the squashes and pumpkins.

Left on their own, gourds depend on insects such as bees and beetles for pollination. One problem with this is that gourds cross-pollinate very easily, and the seeds the gourd produces will usually not be true, and will produce a gourd with characteristics of both plants. Another side effect is that the germination rate of the seeds will be very poor. Site Search:. The male flowers usually appear first. It is very easy to tell male from female flowers as the female flower will have the small gourd shape below the bloom, while the male flower photo at left is male flower grows on a stem without the ball shape below the flower.

If you have a lack of pollinating insects in your garden, it is helpful to hand-pollinate the gourds yourself. Identify male and female flowers on your gourd plant.

Female flowers have a large, bulbous growth on the vine just beneath the blossoms, while male flowers lack this growth. Isolate male and female blooms by covering them with a muslin drawstring bag.

Pull on the drawstring to close the bag. Return to hand-pollinate the flowers when they open naturally.