Title

Squashes

Bulletin No.

042

Document Type

Bulletin

Department

Department of Horticulture and Forestry

Description

From those who have attempted growing either pumpkins or squashes, in the more newly settled portions of our State, there comes almost universal complaint; that the vines while making a satisfactory growth, do not set fruit. There is an abundant production of flowers but an almost complete failure of fruit. This question was so constantly met with, that during the past two seasons a series of observations were made upon plants of this class with a view of determining, if possible, the cause of the failure as well as a more or less complete remedy for it. A very little observation revealed the cause of the failure to be a lack of proper pollination, due to an absence of insects capable of transferring the pollen of the male or staminate flowers to the female or pistillate flowers. In the pumpkins and, so called, winter squashes the pistillates are at considerable distance, five to twenty feet often, from the pollen bearing flowers. In this easer the wind, which is usually an active agent in the dispersing of pollen, plays no part, or if any it is too insignificant to be taken into account in commercial squash growing.

Keywords

squashes, horticulture, garden

Pages

16

Publication Date

2-1895

Type

text

Format

application/pdf

Language

en

Publisher

South Dakota Agricultural College and Experiment Station

Comments

Department of Horticulture and Forestry

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