Fruit tree pollination
Cross pollination produces seeds with a different genetic makeup from the parent plants; such seeds may be created deliberately as part of a selective breeding program for fruit trees with desired attributes.
A few are described as "self-fertile" and are capable of self-pollination, although even those tend to carry larger crops when cross pollinated from a suitable pollenizer.
A relatively small number of cultivars are "triploid", meaning that they provide almost no viable pollen for themselves or other apple trees.
During the bloom each season, commercial apple growers usually provide pollinators to carry the pollen.
[4] Bumble bees are sometimes present in orchards, but not usually in enough quantity to be significant pollinators; in the home garden with only a few trees, their role may be much greater.
[13] Multiple bee visits are usually required to deliver sufficient grains of pollen to accomplish complete pollination.
Like apples, pears are self-incompatible and need to attract insects in order to be pollinated and produce fruit.
[1] One notable difference from apples is that pear blossoms are much less attractive to honeybees due to their pale coloring and light odor.
Bees may abandon the pear blossoms to visit dandelions or a nearby apple orchard.
The bees are moved into the orchard during the night and will usually visit the pear blossoms for a few hours until they discover the richer nectar sources.
The single most important factor determining a good yield is pollination during the bloom period.
More than a million colonies of honey bees are placed in California Almond orchards at the beginning of the bloom period to pollinate the crop.
California beekeepers alone cannot supply this critical need, which is why honey bees travel across the country to the San Joaqin Valley each year.
These growers started using semiochemical formulations, like SPLAT Bloom,[16] to compensate for the low hive density.
SPLAT Bloom manipulates the behavior of the bees, inciting them to spend more time foraging, and thus pollinating flowers in the entire almond orchard (increasing pollination and fruit set), not only close to the hive.
Hawaiian[23] and Brazilian[24] papayas and nearly half of those produced in Australia are able to set fruit without the need of staminate plants.
A fully developed fruit may contain 1,000 seeds so well over 1,000 grains of pollen must be received by a receptive stigma.
Large insects play an important role in most regions with hawkmoths, sphinx moths and possibly hummingbirds as primary pollinators.
[2] Even so, pollen requirements for healthy and consistent fruit motivate growers to locate honeybees within their groves to pollinate in any capacity.
Early researchers believed wind and gravity played significant roles pollinating this tropical fruit but modern studies fail to confirm either one.
