In the a garden: How crops are pollinated
There is a lot of confusion concerning pollination in many vegetable crops. It is important to know how different crops are pollinated. Sweet corn is wind pollinated -- by pollen falling from the tassel (male) to the silk (female) part of the plant. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, beans, and peas are nearly completely self-pollinated. The flowers of these plants are arranged so that the flowers are pollinated by the natural growth process of the flower shedding pollen from the male to female parts. It is the vine crops -- including squash, pumpkins, cucumbers, muskmelons, watermelons and gourds -- that are bee pollinated. These plants all produce separate male and female flowers and bees are necessary to transfer pollen from one to the other. Bees only work on bright sunny days and are easily injured by insecticide sprays applied during the time the bees work (from sun-up to mid-afternoon). If bees fail to pollenize these flowers, the fruit will start to develop but shrivel and fall off. If bees pollenize the flowers only sparingly, the fruit may develop but be misshapen or poorly filled.
