Why do kiwifruit need artificial pollination? Detailed explanation of reasons and methods

Kiwifruit, also known as the kiwi, has extremely high nutritional value. People who like it will find it tastes very good, sweet and sour, but those who do not like it will find the flavor a bit strange. The price of kiwifruit on the market is also still quite expensive. Kiwifruit cultivation does not have many requirements for conditions. During the pollination process, pollination is generally carried out by insects, but sometimes the yield is not ideal, so in order to increase the yield, we really go to great lengths. Let's take a look below.

Reasons for artificial pollination

Although kiwifruit has both male and female parts in one plant, the male flowers are more vigorous, so cross-pollination between male and female flowers is necessary for it to bear fruit. Moreover, fruit produced without relying on external forces is generally not of very good quality, so pollination needs to be carried out artificially. Under normal circumstances, if it is only for your own family to enjoy, pollination by wind is enough, except that the fruit produced will not be plentiful and will not be very large. But if you are making a career of planting large areas of kiwifruit, then use artificial pollination as much as possible, because the kiwifruit produced this way will be more nutritious and the yield will be higher at the same time.

Methods of artificial pollination

1. Pollen collection

Pollen collection is generally carried out at nine or ten in the morning or six or seven in the afternoon two days after the flowers bloom. Of course, it is best to choose a sunny day; collecting on a rainy day will seriously affect the quality of the pollen. The flowers collected must all be male flowers. After collection, spread the flowers flat on paper; do not pile them up, as this affects quality. Finally, carry out pollen processing. After the pollen has fallen off, the pollen ratio needs to be configured in order to reach the highest standard.

2. Pollination time

After the pollen has been prepared, we need to choose a relatively sunny morning to carry out pollination. Generally, the best pollination time is at eight or nine in the morning. Pollinating at this time gives the best effect, which can greatly increase the fruit-setting rate, and the quality of the fruit will also improve noticeably.

3. Pollination methods

There are two pollination methods. The first is to directly smear the stamens of male flowers onto female flowers, smearing repeatedly several times, and then cover the female flowers with the male flowers so that they come into closer contact. However, the pollination time will be relatively long, generally requiring five or six days, but the effect of this pollination method is the best. The second is to dip the collected pollen with a wet towel and then pour it into clean water for spraying. Although this is fast, the pollination is not so uniform. Finally, you can also use a relatively light medium such as feathers to apply the pollen, and the effect will be better than with a wet towel.

4. Check and supplementary pollination

Two days after artificial pollination, female flowers that have generally not been pollinated are white, and after successful pollination they will turn yellow. If the color of the female flowers does not change, or the color change is not obvious, then it means pollination was not successful, or that you missed some when pollinating, so supplementary pollination is needed. The method of supplementary pollination is the same as the first pollination method; choose whichever one you prefer.

The above is the simple tutorial brought to you today by Qinnong Network on why kiwifruit need artificial pollination and how to carry out pollination. Of course, it also has some other pollination modes. For example, placing large numbers of bees into the kiwifruit orchard during the kiwifruit flowering season for pollination is also quite advisable.