Hand-pollination

Method:
– Pollination involves transferring pollen from the stamen of one plant to the pistil of another
– Pollen donor is the plant the pollen is taken from, while the seed parent receives the pollen
– Hand-pollination is done using a cotton swab, small brush, or by shaking flowers
– Some plants have pollen condensed in a mass called the pollinium, like orchids
– A small utensil is used to transfer pollinia in the case of orchids

Reasons:
– Common reasons for hand-pollination include lack of pollinators and control of cross-pollination
– Hand-pollination is used to create specific hybrids and in areas with limited natural pollinators
– Specialty crops like date palms use hand-pollination to save space and energy
– Large-scale operations prefer honeybees for pollination efficiency
– Some crops like pears in Hanyuan County, China are hand-pollinated due to specific requirements

See also:
– RoboBee
– Materially Engineered Artificial Pollinators

References:
– McLaughlin, Chris (2010). “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Heirloom Vegetables”
– Rai, Nagendra; Rai, Mathura (2006). “Heterosis breeding in vegetable crops”

External links:
– Method for hand-pollinating zucchini (courgette)
– Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hand-pollination&oldid=1141363611

Hand-pollination (Wikipedia)

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Hand pollination, also known as mechanical pollination is a technique that can be used to pollinate plants when natural or open pollination is either undesirable or insufficient.