How to Hand Pollinate Muskmelon

Muskmelon vines depend on prolific insects for their pollination even more than other plants. In some locations, a shortage of honeybees has caused a decrease in melon yields, requiring the grower to spend some time hand-pollinating the plants. Hand pollination is time-consuming, yet simple, requiring only light labor. The pollen must be removed from the male flowers and applied to the pistols of the female flowers in a way that ensures adequate fertilization.

Things You'll Need

• Medium camel-hair artist's brush
• Magnifying glass
• Red vinyl tape
• Scissors

Instructions

1. Locate the male and female flowers on your muskmelon plant. The male flowers will contain a yellowish, dusty powder in their centers, which is the pollen. The female flowers have long tubules in their centers which don't contain any pollen. These are the pistols. Muskmelons also produce what are termed "perfect flowers" which have both male and female parts.

2. Gently touch the tip of the hairs on the end of your camel-hair artist's brush to the stamen of the male flower on one of your plants, and visually inspect the bristle ends with a magnifying glass to ensure all of the bristle end is coated with the yellow pollen dust. The entire end must be thoroughly coated. Touch the brush against the stamen several times, inspecting after each brushing, until this requirement is satisfied.

3. Brush the pollen onto the pistols on one of the female flowers (or a "perfect flower") of a different nearby plant, not on the same plant, touching the ends of the bristles against them lightly. Move the brush back and forth, then up and down across them. Use your magnifying glass to observe any pistols which didn't get any of the pollen and adjust your brush strokes in a manner suitable to cover all of them. Repeat for all of the female and "perfect flowers" on each plant.

4. Cut a small piece of red vinyl tape and wrap it around the stem of each plant that has had all of its flowers pollinated to help you in visually locating those which still need your attention.

5. Repeat Steps 1 through 4 once again within one week for maximum pollination of your melon garden.

Tips & Warnings

• Each plant will have male and female flowers, and one or more "perfect flowers (both male and female parts)." Always carry some pollen from one plant to a different plant to ensure good genetic variety from cross-pollination.

References

• Hand Pollination Technique: Pictorial Overview
• Alabama Cooperative Extension Office: Growing Muskmelons (PDF)

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish