Re: [CH] rocoto pollination, any experts?
Brent Thompson (brent@hplbct.hpl.hp.com)
Thu, 23 Apr 1998 13:55:58 -0700
> Does anyone know if rocotos have to be hand-pollinated in order to set
> fruit?
They of course often set fruit fine by themselves, but, yes, you'll
probably get better results if you hand-pollenate early in the season.
FWIW, I have this feeling ants are the main natural pollenization vector
for my rocotos, at least the ones I keep in pots on the covered patio.
[Hence if you are better at ant control than I am, you could suffer
commensurate reduction in natural rocoto fruit set.]
Also, I can't tell how relevant this is, not knowing your climate, but
another factor to consider is that rocoto fruit set, and even to a lesser
extent flower production itself, drops considerably during height of summer
(for plants fully exposed to that heat), e.g. when daytime temps are mostly
above 90 degrees F. or so -- true in San Jose, California, anyway.
--- Brent