Agricultural office: pollination soursop

Lack of fruit can be caused by the absence of beetle pollinator
by John Mathias


Manual pollination promotes fruit set

The foot soursop that my father planted in the backyard is large and with flowers, but there is no sign of fruit. Like the petals are falling and there are some white bugs on the plant, these are the causes of fruiting not be revenge?
Fabricio Lopes José Sampaio
Bélem, PA

A problem of pollination is the cause of the fall of the soursop flowers and why not experience the fruit set. Is not always possible to rely on the dark beetles of the family Scarabaeidae, which carry natural pollination by visiting different flowers soursop, the solution is to do the process manually. During the afternoon, collect the flowers that are opening up. They must be packed in a single layer, in a plastic container and in a cool place and protected. The next morning, with a brush or your finger to extract pollen from flowers harvested - a crown around the white cone flower, which is steamed when it is released - and deposit it in a mug. Then brush the pollen, preferably in the flowers that are starting to flower opening (cracking) in the plant.

Consultant: Marcelo Rosa Melo, agronomist, Department of seeds, seedlings and Matrices (DSMM / CATI), the Department of Agriculture of the State of São Paulo.

Source: Globo Rural magazine