The fruit on my zucchini plant do not grow but instead shrivel up and fall off. What is wrong?
Squash, cucumber and melons require insects, usually honeybees, to pollinate the flowers. When no insects are available, the fruit is not pollinated and so it shrivels up and falls off the plant. When no bees are present in the garden or the bee population is too low for good fruit set, the dedicated gardener can substitute for the bee by pollinating by hand. Hand pollination is a tedious chore, but it is the only means of obtaining fruit set in the absence of bees. The pollen is yellow in color and produced on the structure in the center of the male flower. You can use a small artist’s paintbrush to transfer pollen, or you can break off a male flower, remove its petals to expose the pollen-bearing structure, and roll the pollen onto the stigma in the center of the female flower. When hand pollinating, it is important to use only freshly opened flowers. Flowers open early in the morning and are receptive for only one day. The female flower in cucurbits can be recognized easily by the p
