Hand pollination (also called "mechanical pollination") is a technique used when natural, or open pollination is insufficient or undesirable. The most common techniques are for crops such as cucurbits, which may exhibit poor pollination by fruit abortion, fruit deformity or poor maturation. Hand pollination is only an option on a small scale, but is a common technique by gardeners who transfer pollen with an artist brush or cotton swab. Sometimes the corolla is removed from male flowers and the flower itself is brushed against the stigmas of female flowers. A flower-fly pollinating a Common Daisy (Bellis perennis) Pollination is an important step in the reproduction of seed plants: the transfer of pollen grains (male gametes) to the plant carpel, the structure that contains the ovule (female gamete). ... Genera Abobra Acanthosicyos Actinostemma Alsomitra Ampelosycios Anacaona Apatzingania Apodanthera Bambekea Benincasa Biswarea Bolbostemma Brandegea Bryonia Calycophysum Cayaponia Cephalopentandra Ceratosanthes Chalema Cionosicyos Citrullus Coccinia Cogniauxia Corallocarpus Cremastopus Ctenolepis Cucumella Cucumeropsis Cucumis Cucurbita Cucurbitella Cyclanthera Dactyliandra Dendrosicyos Dicoelospermum Dieterlea Diplocyclos Doyerea Ecballium Echinocystis Echinopepon Edgaria Elateriopsis Eureiandra Fevillea Gerrardanthus Gomphogyne Gurania Guraniopsis... For other uses, see Fruit (disambiguation). ...

Hand pollination can be the simple act of shaking, with tomatoes and other self fertile flowers. Tomatoes grown in greenhouses generally need aid in pollination, and this has been done by hand or with an electric vibrator for a long time. Recently it has been mostly supplanted by cultured bumblebees. Species more than 250 species and subspecies in 37 subgenera Bumblebees (also spelled bumble bee, also known as humblebee) are flying insects of the genus Bombus in the family Apidae. ...

When pollination is needed on a large scale, such as for field crops, orchards or commercial seed production, honeybees or other pollinators are cultured and provided for pollination management. Species Apis andreniformis Apis cerana, or eastern honey bee Apis dorsata, or giant honey bee Apis florea Apis koschevnikovi Apis laboriosa Apis mellifera, or western honey bee Apis nigrocincta Apis nuluensis Honey bees are a subset of bees which represent a far smaller fraction of bee diversity than most people... Pollination Management is the label for horticultural practices that accomplish or enhance pollination of a crop, to improve yield or quality, by understanding of the particular crops pollination needs, and by knowledgeable management of pollenizers, pollinators, and pollination conditions. ...

The primary reason for hand pollination is lack of pollinators which may be due to crops being moved from home areas (as in vanilla beans) without also taking the natural pollinator. Pollinator decline or the concentrated pollination needs of monoculture may also be factors in pollination shortage. A pollinator is the agent that moves pollen from the male anthers of a flower to the female stigma of a flower to accomplish fertilization or syngamy of the female gamete in the ovule of the flower by the male gamete from the pollen grain. ... Vanilla is a flavoring derived from orchids in the genus Vanilla. ... Pollinator decline is based on observations made at the end of the twentieth century of the reduction in abundance of pollinators in many ecosystems worldwide. ... Monoculture describes systems that have very low diversity. ...

Another reason for hand pollination is in order to control the parents of the seed to be produced. For example, all F1 hybrids are the result of pollenating one specific variety with another specific variety, in order to produce a uniform crop.

For pest prevention with some high-value crops, row covers of mesh are used to prevent pest insects from access to the plants. However, this may necessate hand pollination when bloom starts.

Hand pollination is used with date palms to avoid wasting a lot of space and energy growing sufficient male plants for adequate natural pollination. Binomial name Phoenix dactylifera L. The Date Palm Phoenix dactylifera is a palm, extensively cultivated for its edible fruit. ...

Variable techniques for hand pollination have arisen for many specialty crops.