Why does empty flowers appear on zucchini

The actual problem in the cultivation of zucchini - the appearance of barren flowers, male flowers, which do not give fruit. As a rule, they are cut off, but they are necessary for pollination of female flowers, respectively, and the cultivation of fruits. They can be identified by a long thin stem and spikes, for women’s - a short, smooth stem.

Waste flowers

There are many reasons that can cause a large number of barren flowers: weather conditions, pests, diseases, and more. To avoid this, you need to know how to prevent these phenomena and how to deal with them.

Benefit

For healthy and complete fertilization, both female and male flowers are necessary, preferably in the same quantity. Without the presence of barren flowers, pollination will not occur and there will be no fruit.

Harm

The main cause of damage to a large number of barren flowers is the lack of fruit. Also, when a lot of barren flowers are formed on zucchini, it depletes the plant.At the same time, they can also be a focus of diseases or attract pests.

Causes of

The cause of barren flowers can be one or many factors. It is necessary to find out why the empty flower appears, then the way to eliminate it will be clear.

Bad seeds

The main cause of barren flowers on zucchini are bad seeds. For planting, you need to take old seeds (2-3 years of storage), young give a small offspring. To increase the efficiency of young seeds, you need to fill them with hot water (more than 50 ° C) for 5-6 hours, then wrap them with a damp cloth and film. When the sprouts to land. Seeds that have been stored at high humidity or low temperatures also yield little yield. Therefore, before planting, they need to warm up.

If the seeds are purchased, you need to pay attention to the packaging. The F1 sign indicates that these are hybrid seeds and have all the properties described on the package. But in F2, the second generation, the properties may be lost, for example, the yield will drop.

Purchased seeds can be of poor quality (damaged, improperly stored, etc.).

Care errors

Zucchini moisture-loving, but abundant watering can cause sticking of pollen, washing it off from male flowers, waterlogging of the soil. This leads to rotting of the fetus and the plant, the appearance of diseases. Formation of flowers takes place in turns: first men, then women, for each period you need your own watering. Namely, for women it is necessary to dry the ground a little. Do not water the zucchini again, if the leaves are slightly swept in the sun, in the evening they will become fresh again.

The use of cold water for irrigation leads to the appearance of several female flowers and many barren flowers. Water should be warm (from 16 ° C), watering only under the root, and 5-7 days before harvesting the fruit, watering should be stopped.

Excess fertilizers, especially nitrogen, can lead to the fact that the plant will actively develop, but the ovary does not appear. It is necessary to “pinch” the beginning of growth or create new conditions for the formation of fruits. For example, use potassium and phosphorus for fertilizer (1 tablespoon per 15 liters of water), reduce watering. This will stimulate the plant to develop.

Growing up in the shade will not bring much fruit, they should be planted at a certain distance from each other so that they do not obscure each other.

Diseases

There are several types of diseases, each of them can be the cause of barren flowers on zucchini:

1. White rot - It appears as a white blot with black patches, later mucus appears, and the plant rots. Bees can spread the disease, so you need to immediately remove the damaged plants. To eliminate the need to apply foliar feedings (2 g of copper sulphate, 1 g of zinc sulfate, 10 g of urea per 10 liters of water).
2. Downy mildew- It manifests itself in the form of dark spots on the sheets, gray-purple scurf below, with time the plant dries out and crumbles. For disposal, it is necessary to disinfect the soil and treat it with ammonium nitrate.
3. Mealy dew - appears as a white mealy plaque on the whole plant, leaves turn yellow, and the plant dries out. For treatment, apply the solution on colloidal sulfur (35% tincture, 50 g per 10 l of water).
4. Anthracnose - It manifests itself in the form of stains over the entire surface, orange pads, wrinkling of leaves and rotting. The disease is common in greenhouses.To eliminate - process Bordeaux mixture (100 g of copper sulphate and lime per 10 liters of water).
5. Spotted mosaic - It manifests itself in the form of green and white small spots, the leaf curls, only the flesh remains around the veins. It is treated with a solution of "Karbofos".

For the prevention of disease you need to carefully handle the tools and monitor the status of zucchini.For seeds you can disinfect - put in water at a temperature of 50-70 ° C for 15-20 minutes, after 3-4 minutes in the cold, then dry.

Pests

To know how to deal with barren flowers on zucchini, it is necessary to take into account that pests can also cause this phenomenon:

1. Aphid melon - has a dark green oval body, eats juice, subsequently the zucchini leaves wither and curl. For destruction, you need to apply a solution: 100 g of yarrow pour 1 liter of water, leave for two days, spray the plant.
2. Sprout fly - A small insect that damages the seeds and sprouts, laying the larva there.To get rid of it, you need to dig up the ground, destroy the spoiled sprouts, carefully bury the seeds, after their processing.
3. Spider mite - has transparent legs and a dark round body, lives in the web under the leaf. It feeds on juice, subsequently there are spots and holes like bites. To destroy, remove the damaged leaflets, apply a solution: 100 g of dry scales of garlic per 10 liters of water, leave for one day.
4. White fly - a small white fly, settles on the back side of the leaf, contributes to the appearance of sooty fungi, because of which the leaf turns black and fades. For destruction you need to apply "Konfidor" (1 ml per 10 l of water), and also wash off the whitefly from the sheets.

In good weather conditions and proper care, insects rarely attack. A good environment for their appearance is a wet, enclosed space.

Unsuitable soil

Unsuitable soil - depleted, not fertilized, too wet or dry ground. On a very wet, marshy land, female flowers appear extremely rarely. What to do if empty flowers on squash appeared with proper watering? The cause may be over-saturated with fertilizer. It is necessary to spray it with a solution of ash (500 g of ash in a bucket of water) or use tincture on potassium and phosphorus.

Another reason is the depleted land on which the same crop has been cultivated for many years. In this case, you need to change the landing site, and to plant something else on the old land. The reason for the appearance of barren flowers may be increased acidity of the earth. To reduce the acidity, you can use lime (60 kg of lime per 1 hundred), evenly distribute before digging, preferably in the fall, repeating the procedure 1 time in 8-9 years. Or use fertilizers for lime: calcareous tuff, dolomitic and limestone flour.

Weather

Rainy weather can cause a drop in yield. Bees are necessary for the fruits to appear, but they simply do not arrive in rainy seasons. To lure the bees, you need to gently push the flower petals and spray the plants with a solution of honey or sugar (3 spoons per 1 cup of water).

In the absence of pollinators, artificial insemination should be used.It is necessary to carry out the procedure from 8 to 12 hours. To do this, take yellow pollen from a barren flower and place it on the stigma of a female flower. You can also not allow high humidity during rains, especially if zucchini planted in the shade. On sunny hot days you should not water them too much, even if the leaves have dropped.

The cause of many barren flowers can be cold night dew, since the plant is thermophilic, in this case it is necessary to pour it with warm water.

We grow zucchini without wastewater

The main rule is not to tear all barren flowers., they contain the necessary pollen for pollination.

The right place for planting is a moderately humid land with a low level of acidity, where crop rotation was carried out. It is desirable that this was a sunny place or a bit dark. It is necessary to fertilize, but in small quantities. Otherwise, the plant will develop, but not to form fruits. This is especially true for nitrogen fertilizers.

Water is worth warm water. If in the hot period the foliage has dropped a little, you do not need to fill the squash! “Warm” plants need and with cold dew, after rain, temperatures below 10 ° C.

To prevent pests and diseases, it is necessary to process tools and not leave them in a closed space for a long time (greenhouses). Use only quality and old seeds, warm them before planting. And also follow the process of pollination, in case of absence of bees, use artificial pollination.

With the right care, you can grow zucchini with a small amount of barren flower and good fruits!