Hello and thank you for your question.
The problem you describe is a common one, and most likely indicates
that proper pollination of the plants did not occur when they were at
the flowering stage.
Here are two internet sites that answer the question and agree on the
cause:
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"When male and female blooms are both present, and female blooms with
small fruit attached continue to fall off, then you have a pollination
problem. Pollination means the transfer of male parts to the female
part. This task usually is accomplished by bees or insects visiting
the flowers. If you don't have a source of such pollinating insects,
or continually kill them by spraying insecticides during flight
periods, inadequate pollination and fruit drop will occur. During peak
pollination seasons, spray insecticides late in the afternoon to avoid
problems.
If you do not have bees, you can hand-pollinate blooms. This involves
taking a male bloom, removing the petals and rubbing the stamen (the
pollen-containing male part) in a female bloom early in the morning,
before 10am. This will effectively transfer the male pollen to the
female bloom. I told you gardening could be fun and exciting!
Squash sex may not be the only issue creating production problems.
Planting in the shade will cause lack of fruit set, as will
overwatering. Water plants growing in sandy soil more often and with a
lesser amount. Check the soil around plants by digging with your
finger to determine if moisture is present. If moisture is present,
DON'T WATER! REMEMBER -- MORE PLANTS ARE KILLED BY OVERWATERING THAN
BY NOT ENOUGH WATER. Don't try to "hurry" plants into production with
excessive watering; all you are accomplishing is the "hurrying" of
plants to death."
COMMON SPRING GROWING PROBLEMS
http://www.plantanswers.com/garden_column/may/may4.htm
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"Q: My crookneck squash bush is large and has 10 or more small squash.
The problem is, when they get about 3-inches long they shrivel up.
Everything else in the bed, zucchini, strawberries, tomatoes, corn and
radishes are doing great."
"A: There are three possible reasons for your lack of fruit production
from the plant. With squash, the first few flowers are always male and
will not produce fruit. They will drop off and without any sign of
fruits being produced. After the male flowers are done, the female
flowers will appear and you should have normal fruit production. You
don't have to do anything but wait.
A great Web site to see the differences between the two flowers can be
found at
http://www.pollinator.com/squash.htm.
If fruits begin to form and then fall off, the flower was a female,
but it wasn't pollinated. You may think that pollination was not the
problem because fruit started to develop. But pollination is not
necessary for fruit to form, but it is necessary if fruit continues to
develop after pollination. Seeds are necessary in most plants for
fruit to enlarge and mature. However, your description sounds like one
of the next two reasons.
First is the lack of pollinating bees at the time the flowers were
open and receptive. In cases like this, any plants you can have in the
yard that will attract bees will help in pollination. Or you can try
hand pollinating. That Web site has an excellent pictorial guide on
how to hand pollinate.
Next reason is less likely but still possible. This could be harsh
environment at the time the flowers were open. This might be excessive
heat, rain, wind, cold temperatures, rain or any type of interference
that would restrict bee activity or make pollination difficult."
View Neighborhood Newspapers--Gardening
http://tinyurl.com/1chu
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So unfortunately there's nothing you can do this year to save your
crop.
Next year besides taking the usual care in the way of sun, fertilizer
and water, you should go easy on the pesticide, especially during the
period when flowers appear. That way the bees can do their job (or
failing that, you could pollinate by hand, but I've never found that
necessary).
Search terms used:
gardening problem squash drop off
If you find any of this answer unclear, please feel free to request
clarification. I would appreciate it if you would hold off on rating
my answer until I have an opportunity to respy.
Good luck and happy gardening
richard-ga |
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