233 Alteration of Flower Development and Fruit Growth in Summer Squash

Abstract

Many summer squash hybrids initiate flowering by first producing one or more pistillate flowers before the development of any staminate flowers. These first pistillate flowers have no pollen source unless an earlier squash planting is nearby. The objectives of this study were to measure the loss in yield incurred by the absence of pollination and to determine if sex expression in squash could be altered by use of gibberellic acid (GA). `Cougar' summer squash was planted in 12 isolated plots on 13 May; four plots had adjacent rows planted on 3 May to provide pollen for the earliest developing pistillate flowers in those plots. On 28 May, 0.146 L·ha-1 of GA (ProGibb 4®) was applied to an adjacent row in four of the plots planted on 13 May. The four control plots received no treatment. At anthesis, pistillate and staminate flowers were counted daily for 10 days. The first six pistillate flowers that bloomed in each plot were identified and measured (length and diameter) on the day of anthesis, and at 4 and 7 days after anthesis. Fruit were harvested five times at 2-day intervals and data are reported on fruit ≤5.7 cm in diameter. GA had no effect on squash flowering habit. At 4 and 7 days after anthesis, fruit were smaller in plots where no pollen source was available. Early yields were higher for the first two harvests in plots where pollinators were present. A small, early planting of squash should be made to provide staminate flowers for normal growth and development of early fruit on the main summer squash crop.