the birds and the bees of hydroponics
“ Misshapen fruit are another common pollination issue , one that is often misdiagnosed by inexperienced growers .”
Malformed tomato fruit with a disorder known as catface , which is caused by low temperatures during pollination . common problem when growroom temperatures are too high , low , or have humidity levels below 65 per cent . Under these conditions , pollen grains may not stick to the stigma to allow for successful germination and fertilization . For crops such as tomatoes and capsicum , pollen grain germination is significantly reduced at temperatures outside the 43-97 o F range and the pollen tube may expire before reaching the ovule for fertilization . Similarly , low light conditions result in a lack of assimilate ( sugars produced via photosynthesis ), which can also lead to poor pollen viability and restricted fruit set . Even more frustrating are the small fruitlets that appear to form , then either don ’ t develop further , or abscise and fall from the plant . Fruitlet drop may also stem from causes unrelated to poor pollination . Many fruiting plants pollinate and set many more young fruitlets than the plant can sufficiently support and grow to maturity . This is common with melons and cucumbers , whose large fruit create a high demand for assimilate produced by the leaves . Capsicum plants also tend to abort fruitlets when the plant is already carrying a heavy fruit load . Assimilate for fruit growth is directed first to the developing or maturing fruit already on the plant , thus starving any recently set fruitlets
Beefsteak tomato fruit trusses may be thinned to four to six fruit after pollination to maintain fruit size .
140 Maximum Yield USA | February 2017