Blossom Drop in Vegies Garden
Help!! My Bloomed flowers are dropping. These kind of screams from vegetable gardens or fields revealed that flowers do blooming but shed off after that. This is the real tension for grower as flower develops into fruit and provide production. But the question is why the problem is universal or is it really a problem and if it is what are the reasons? Research proved that vines are monoecious; having male and female flowers on same vine but on different locations. Female is the source to develop fruit after pollination from male flower. So, male flower do blooming, spread pollens and die of after completing it's job. So don't worry may be this is the male who are dropping. In fact in gourds family male flowers develop 7-10 days before female and shed off just after female blooming and pollinating it. But if the females are dropping then how to control the situation? By improving following cultural practice one can easily avoid the risk. 1. Don't kill pollinators (beneficial insects e.g. honey bees) as lack of pollination may cause blossom drop. 2. Sudden fluctuation in temperature (high day and less night temp) stresses the flower. So do planting in actual season or control environmental parameters in off season farming. 3. Last and the important one is soil moisture. High moisture at time of flowering cause plant to shed flower. It is better to water at time of flowering but with controlled amount. ?