From

Location

Message

Date Posted

Alabama

How long does it need to stay cool in the morning for pollination to work and what's the best temperature?

7/10/2011 1:26:11 AM

Springfield, Missouri

Bell,

I am from south west Missouri and it gets pretty hot here (95-100 for the next week). I have noticed that if you cool the area right around the flower it doesn't guarantee that the pollination will take. You really must watch the entire plant throughout the day and make sure the leafs don't wilt. The simple answer is get a shade tarp or use old sheets to cover the plant for the day. Full explanation below.


When and if the leafs do wilt the plant will stop doing photosynthesis and instead do photorespiration in which the plant burns sugars to maintain its atp (Energy Level). This causes the plant to become stressed and certain chemicals are produced that normally would not be. It is possible that if sugar level is too low and these other chemicals are too high it will not allow the pollination to take in order to preserve resources (it requires allot of sugar aka. carbohydrates to grow a pumpkin).

Logan

7/10/2011 3:58:08 AM