North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Mauch1@aol.com]

>Maypop problems:  i have three maypops growingfrom seed in a greenhouse. 
>All have been hand pollinated.  

>Number one plant:  set only one seeminglly hollow fruit.
>               2   plant:  will not set any fruit despite repeated
>pollinations from the        others and itself.
>               3 plant: has six large fruits on it--all seem hollow and
>the one i just opened had absolutely nothing inside, no seeds or pulp.  
>What is going on? 

1)  Often hand pollination is not as effective as bees, etc.

2)  Maypops even when perfectly set and have seeds and pulp
inside are still hollow.

3)  If by happenstance these are not true Maypops, but a hybrid 
passionflower, the hybrids sometimes set hollow fruit.

4)  Even in the field not every flower will set fruit (see below).

5)  Maypops have an “odd” flowering pattern (there’s a long
scientific name for it but it escapes me at the moment).  Basically
it sets two kinds of flowers, perfect (male and female parts in 
working order) and male flowers only.  If I remember correctly
the amount of sunlight falling on the leaves near the fruit determine
whether the flower can be male or perfect),  and the female parts can
be “turned off” at different points in development.  So on some male 
flowers the female parts will be actually withered, and in others they
simply won’t be reflexed downward to touch the carpenter bees as they
seek the flower’s nectar.  As summer starts to fade, the 
plants will set more male flowers than perfect flowers.  Are you plants
receiving enough light or could they be otherwise stressed?

6)  I believe that Maypops are self-infertile.

Chris Mauchline
SE PA, zone 6