North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Claude Sweet <hortventures@cox.net>]

Doreen,

It has been years since I attended college and I am now retired.  There 
may have been some additional research relating to the influence of 
pollination on the taste/flavor of vegetables and fruits whose pulp, 
rather than seed, is consumed. 

My recollection is that the pollination only produces genetic changes in 
the seed, except for the rare exceptions, and does not change the flavor 
or taste of the tissue (pulp) that surrounds the seed. 

Some species of mangoes can be seed grown as the seeds are identical to 
the female parent and thus breed true. Another exception is the 
pollination variant Oriental Persimmons that are astringent when 
seedless and non astringent when pollinated. The flesh surrounding the 
seed changes color in the chocolate persimmon cultivar so that the 
effect is very easy to see and taste. The change in astringency occurs 
with any pollen source, not a specific cross pollination transfer.

Bananas that are allowed to reach full maturity on the stalk prior to 
harvesting are much sweeter. I prefer to actually allow the fruit to 
change color while attached to the plant.  The commercial fruit is 
removed about 6 weeks prior to full maturity so it can be transported by 
ship to distant locations. The commercial banana fruit that is available 
never reaches the full flavor of the tree ripen fruit.

Claude Sweet
San Diego, CA

> Claude Sweet wrote:
How do you pollinate the female banana flowers when the male flowers only 
appear after the flower stalk has ceased producing the female flowers?


> Doreen Howard wrote: 
>
> I grow several varieties--Raji Puri, Dwarf Cavenish and Zan Moreno--and they 
> flower at different times, but close together.  You are right about many 
> cultivars not requiring pollination, but I do it anyway on the following 
> theory.  When I grew them in the ground, the banana flowers that were visited 
> by sweat bees and hummingbirds had the sweetest fruits.  And these fruits had 
> prominent seeds.  I may be wrong in my theory, but I'm still experimenting.
>
>
>