Ok , here ’s the skivvy on elephantine pumpkin sexuality 101 . I ’ve been talking about giant Cucurbita pepo pollination a lot and have been leave bits and pieces of information and so need to be vindicated about WHY we choose to pollinate them and HOW we give pollinate giant pumpkins .
First WHY do we pollinate them ?
If I was growing regular pumpkin vine I would n’t pollenate them , I ’d just permit the bee do it but giant pumpkin growers want to know what genetic fabric is being passed from the manlike peak to the female flower of a pumpkin . why ? Because it does n’t affect this time of year ’s pumpkin , but the next year ’s seeds of that autumn pumpkin . That way we can grow bigger pumpkin , prettier pumpkin , oranger pumpkins , libertine pumpkins , etc . next year . If we let the bees do it , we would n’t know which pumpkin embed the pollen came from as the bee visit many blossom from many plants .
male flower side view
So we grow several different pumpkins from seeds from different gargantuan pumpkin vine growers . For example , I have 3 growing right now and one that I hand pollenate the other mean solar day was from the seed of a 895 lb pumpkin seed grown by a agriculturist named Grande in 2009 ( hence it is call in an 895 Grande 09 ) and I cut through that female flower with the male efflorescence from a cum of a 945 lb pumpkin seed develop by a grower named N. Harp in 2010 ( hence it is shout out 945 N.Harp 10 ) . Why would I do it ? I ’m endeavor to baffle 2 top notch autumn pumpkin and see what I can get . I hope to get a round really orangish pumpkin with great weight . The 895 Grande was really pretty but the 945 N. Harp came from majuscule genetic science . I know which pumpkins they get along from because those cultivator number that with their cum . I can also depend up the grandparents as well . If we allow the bee do it , we would not have this information to help us decide .
2d doubt is HOW we do we hand pollinate the female flower ?
male flower side view
female flower side view
distaff bloom side view
First all pumpkin vine produce both manly and distaff flowers on each flora . The manlike flowers show up first and then the distaff blossom start show up . I watch the closed green distaff flush closely for when they start to get grownup and slightly chickenhearted orange tree on the tip of the flower but the flower is still closed . When I see that , I know it will open up THE NEXT MORNING . So I cover it the nighttime before and some virile flowers as well so the bee wo n’t get to it first with unsung Cucurbita pepo pollen . Then I get up EARLY the next sunrise as we have a 4 hr
male bloom at heart with stamen
male flower inside with stamen
female flower inside with stigma
WINDOW TO pollenate THE FEMALE
FLOWER , ( GENERALLY 6 - 10AM ) and feel some newly opened MALE flowers ( or reveal the ones from the dark before ) from the flora I need to cross the distaff flower with . It could be from the same pumpkin plant or a different one . Now remember we can tell the female flowers because it looks like a small pumpkin is attached at the base of the flower while the virile flowers are on skinny stanch only . See characterisation . Also the interior of male and female flowers are dissimilar and when the prime are open you may see the divergence . Male flowers have stamens ( kind of look like a penis - I differentiate you we would verbalise sex ) that have the pollen on it which looks like grains of powder all over it . The female flowers have a stain ( think vulva ) and if the timing is correct ( remember 4 60 minutes time period ) will accept the pollen from the male flower .
female flower inside with stigma
male flower with petals peeled off revealing the stamen
So as a gargantuan pumpkin grower I take a manful blossom and peel off the flower petal leave the stamen and take that flower and brush the stamen loaded with pollen like a paintbrush on the inside of the brand and also around the exterior of the stigma as well . Then I close up the distaff flower with a twistie so no other pollen can get in . I keep it closed for one day and take off the twistie afterwards and hold off to see if the pollination takes which could take quite a few day . Sometimes they abort when they are a little smaller than the size of a hoops .
virile stamen pollinating distaff brand like a paintbrush
male flower with petals peeled off revealing the stamen
Inside each distaff prime are many unripened eggs look indoors immature seminal fluid holding half the genetic material . The pollen have the other one-half of the transmissible material . If the female person receives the pollen , the pollen will burgeon forth and move down inside the stigma to the egg within an immature ejaculate and fuse its familial material with the hereditary fabric of the testis lay in in that immature seed inside that diminutive pumpkin . PRESTO ! FERTILIZATION has taken position . Every nut fertilized becomes a a feasible succeeding seminal fluid . And every seed fecundate carry the genetic stuff for a future Cucurbita pepo If not enough pollen as passed , the baby pumpkin will ego abort . ( or if it is too hot-90 academic degree or hot , they can abort too ) COOL , HUH ? ! The so next time you want to lecture to your youngster about sex , you’re able to talk pumpkin sexual urge as an example !
Ok , have I given you too much info ? I figure this way we wo n’t have to go over this again . !
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male stamen pollinating female stigma like a paintbrush
