toothbrush to aid pollenation

[duajones]

I recently got a pulsar by Oral B and notice when I use it on a new blossom, the pollen really shoots out to the point where you can clearly see it. Just wondering how many of you use or have tried a similar method. I got it at closeout for a couple bucks and figured it couldnt hurt. Opinions?

[feldon30]

I've got a Sonicare which is far too abusive for my taste. I wonder if it's too much for the tomato blossoms. And of course by going from blossom to blossom, I imagine I will dramatically increase cross-pollination which is not what I want.

I know I didn't get much fruitset last fall with the first flush of flowers despite temperatures being near-ideal.

I know there have been some topics with regards to vibration and pollination implements including some rather humorous homemade and cobbled-together devices which are not entirely safe for a family site.

[geol]

I would think a little further down the stem would agitate the blossom sufficiently without being so violent as to expel the pollen clear across the yard.
If you enter the word toothbrush in the search option above, it will take you to some of the discussions that Feldon mentioned.
I tried it last year just to see it with my own eyes, but never ran any comparisons to measure its effectiveness. I guess that puts me in the couldn’t hurt camp.

[Sherry_AK]

I've used an Oral B on my tomatoes for years. I remove the toothbrush part and just use the little twisty stem to vibrate blossoms or blossom clusters. Works great.

[duajones]

a little further down the stem seems possibly appropriate since I really see a stream of pollen when I touch a fresh bloom. Hadnt noticed it with the crest version that I had checked out before. Keep in mind, I have only tried this maybe 20 to 30 times tops, so Im not saying it works or not, just was surpised at how much pollen comes out with this different brush. My practice had been to give the plants a shake or two when I remembered to before, so this is all new to me so to speak

[michael johnson]

I have finally bought myself a sonic toothbrush for just this purpose, as normaly they are too expensive over here in the Uk -about £40.00 , but I was lucky enough to come accross some german sonic toothbrushes in an Aldi store for about £7.50 each, so I am hoping to use it this season -with gusto.
Prior to that I have always mangaged with an old cane to rap the stakes with-which worked fine also.

[organichris]

Originally Posted by feldon30

I've got a Sonicare which is far too abusive for my taste. I wonder if it's too much for the tomato blossoms. And of course by going from blossom to blossom, I imagine I will dramatically increase cross-pollination which is not what I want.

Okay, I thought this deserved a bump. But specifically I wanted to highlight the cross-pollination comment because, for some reason, this had never occurred to me.

[tam91]

So why is all this toothbrush action necessary? I thought the plants were supposed to just pollinate themselves basically.

I have mine on a Florida weave, and I would take the posts and shake things a little to just help out.

But does the toothbrush make a big difference? Any varieties that need this more than others?

[feldon30]

Originally Posted by tam91

So why is all this toothbrush action necessary? I thought the plants were supposed to just pollinate themselves basically.

My understanding is the pollen forms on the inside of the Anther cone (marked as 'Stamen'), and then through wind, breeze, toothbrush, insect, etc. vibration, the pollen "falls" onto the Stigma and travels down the Style.

Tomato plants grown in a greenhouse must be shaken or subjected to vibration or few tomatoes will form.

By the way, here's my Toothbrush Pollination video. Note that I would not suggest touching the toothbrush as close to the flower as I do here, as the pollen shooting 5 feet may cross-pollinate other tomatoes.

[tam91]

Interesting, thank you for the video.

[kunosoura]

Thanks for all of the info. I'm going to grab a Pulsar after work today. I can't wait to try this out on all of my babies, especially my Sudduths.

[dice]

If you just vibrate the peduncle, the stem above the flower,
that is good enough. I only see pollen floating in the air occasionally
that way, and it rarely gets on the electric toothbrush, but the
flowers still pollenate.

[feldon30]

[attml]

Here is a video on the subject. You can see the actual pollen coming out of the flower in the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsAGr5qoQzQ The ending is a little goofy but you get the idea. I have 30 different varieties in one area so I definitely wouldn't do this on a windy day! I flick the stem below the flower on my plants now and I think it aids in pollenation. It made a huge difference on my Brandywine last year! I may give the toothbrush method a try though!

Mark

[dice]

Without a bee having pried the anther cone on a flower open, it is
difficult for pollen in the air from one plant to get on the stigma of
a flower from another plant, unless the other plant naturally has
exerted stigmas that stick out beyond the end of the anther cone.

I vibrate the flowers with an electric toothbrush. I still get very low
cross-pollenation. Figuring out why would only be a guess.