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No. Stonington, CT

can you get a good sized pumpkin with open pollination? or dose the amount of pollen and placement on the lobes matter in the size and shape of fruit. this is all just becuase i cant get to my patch early in the morning, the genetics dont realy matter to me either.

7/27/2004 3:39:56 PM

Hilpoltstein, Bavaria, Germany

As long as the female is pollinated it makes no difference at all.
The amount of pollen might influence the amount of seeds you get but according to my experience it will have no influence on the weight of the fruit.

Also, I have heard different opinions on how the fruit is pollinated.
Some people believe that the whole fruit is only pollinated with one pollen grain.
Others believe that each lobe is pollinated with a different pollen grain.
And still others believe that each seed is pollinated with one pollen grain.
I tend to believe that each lobe has to be pollinated but I am not sure. Anyone know it?

Best wishes,
Martin

7/27/2004 5:26:42 PM

Bristol, ME ([email protected])

When a grain of pollen touches a lobe on a female, it triggers a chemical reaction which causes a tube to grow down inside the female and the fertle part of the pollen grain travels down this tube to fertilize an individual seed inside the female....i.e. ...it takes one grain of pollen to fetilize one seed in your pumpkin.
Nic Welty is the expert and the subject is covered pretty thoroughly in HTGWCGP III..

7/27/2004 8:16:06 PM

Deer Park, WI

Martin, Stunner has it right. This isnt speculation either, it is scientific fact. One pollen grain fertilizes one seed.

Back to the original question, i would have to say that yes, you can get a good sized pumpkin on an open pollination, provided the bees have done a sufficient job spreading the pollen on the lobes. Im not aware of any statistics as to how much pollen is required to get a pumpkin rolling. Obviously, one grain of pollen isnt going to do it, on the other hand, bees dont cake it on like we as growers do. So its hard to say at what point a pollination is "successful".

7/28/2004 9:04:16 AM

Hilpoltstein, Bavaria, Germany

Thanks for clearing things up, guys!

7/29/2004 5:07:14 AM