Tomatoes - self pollinators or not??

[Suzanne]

I had always thought tomatoes self pollinated hence the ease at which you could save true seed. Also the plant does not produce nectar so has not evolved to attract insects along traditional lines.

But last night on Jimmy Dohertys farming heroes they had bought bee hives into the glasshouse (some 26 acres I believe  :o) to pollinate the tomatoes.

My question really is; do toms needs bees to pollinate them, or are the bees just replacing the mechanical action of the wind shaking the pollen free? Which is what I do in the tomato house - give them a light shake every once in a while.

Tomato experts out there please help - otherwise I could spend this evening getting my plant physiology/botanical books out to satisfy my curiosity.  :)

[Suzanne]

[labrat]

some would say tomatoes are self fertile but as you say they need a little extra to pollinate. Wind, shaking, electric vibrators all work but bees have been shown to do it much more efficiently. After all they were the original aids to pollination. They maximise yields. Something to do with the frequency the bees vibrate the flower at, I think, which knocks off more pollen inside the flower.

[tim]

Yes.

Professional growers import bees throughout the season.

[tonybloke]

like this Tim!! (24th April, inside Englands largest single greenhouse,11 Hectare/ 16 acres![attachment=1]
;)

[tim]

That's a lot of Bs!!

How long do they grow their stems?

Where is it??

[tonybloke]

250,000 plants, stems up to 33ft! in Norfolk, on the back of British Sugars Bio-fuel plant/Sugar Factory at Wissington. ;)

[tim]

Hydroponics?

[Robert_Brenchley]

Those are bumblebee nests; they buzz pollinate flowers. They vibrate their wings at a particular frequency; it raises a cloud of pollen, and much of it lands on their body hairs, which carry an electrostatic charge. It can then be scraped off onto the pollen baskets and carried back to the nest. Meanwhile, of course, more pollen lands on the stigma, and fertilises the flower.

[saddad]

Some of the oldest varieties can cross pollinate, such as currant and Potato leaf varieties.....  :-\

[tonybloke]

the bumble bees are after the nectar, (being sugar addicts!) they bite the back of the flower to try and find it, of course, there isn't any! to compensate for this they are fed a sugar-rich syrup. the vibration they transmit to the flower during this piercing process is what pollinates the plants (I asked the manager!) ;)

[Suzanne]

Thanks chaps for the info - luckily the bees can get into my tomato house, so perhaps my shaking the stem (why does Cool Hand Luke come to mind ??? ) has been entirely incidental to my tomato set.

Tonybloke I really envy your trip to the glasshouse it looks amazing.

[tonybloke]

the shaking definitely helps with pollination, before the use of captive bees, they used a long, cylindrical device with a small, battery driven electric motor with an off set weight on it's  shaft.  ;D ;D

[tim]

Didn't realise that the grower shown was a professional - hence my post.

Daren't vibrate mine, as usual, this year - they are tending to fall off at the drop of a hat!

[antipodes]

ergh not too sure about industrial tomato growing - there is a lot of it in my region and a chap I know works in one - he says they are genetically modified to produce 40 kilos of toms PER SQUARE METER!!! Through a hydroponic system of course, no dirt. He says they have no flavour whatsoever - he tried growing one of that variety in his garden, he said you get perfect round red tomatoes but they have just no flavour.

Long live our bumpy orangey-red-green half-split sometimes-bird-pecked slightly-squishy-where-we-left-them-too-long tomatoes that TASTE of something!!! and the rest of the year - go without!

[Robert_Brenchley]

A neighbour of mine tried growing the variety they use for tinned tomatoes one year, and he said the same thing. No taste.

[tim]

Funny - my Wife just LOVES the tinned plum ones - picked in the lovely Italian sun - fully ripe & ready to use.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Possibly the extra sun makes a difference?