Do Cantaloupes Need to Be Pollinated to Produce Melons?

Flower Morphology

• Like other members of the melon/cucumber family, Cucurbitaceae, a cantaloupe vine produces two different types of flowers: male or female. The first blossoms to appear on a growing vine are male blossoms, which are golden yellow and contain pollen-shedding stamens. About a week later, the plant produces both male and female blossoms across its sprawling stems under the leaves. Female blossoms also are golden yellow but have a swollen base of stem neck that houses the ovary. Only female blossoms can become melon fruits. Some plants also produce bisexual or perfect flowers: both male and female organs exist in the same blossom.

Pollination

• Female cantaloupe flowers must be pollinated in order for a melon to develop thereafter. Honeybees play a vital role in the pollination of cantaloupe and many other vining crops in the backyard vegetable garden. Each cantaloupe blossom opens for only one day. Bees must visit both male and female blossoms to ensure male pollen is deposited in ample amounts on the sticky pistil in the female blossoms.

About Perfect Flowers

• Perfect blossoms on a cantaloupe vine -- those containing both male stamens and female pistils -- can yield a melon without as much effort from pollinating bees. A water droplet, stiff breeze or one quick visit by an insect in a perfect flower can cause pollen to be scattered or smeared onto the female pistil. Gardeners have no control over how many or when perfect flowers form on cantaloupe vines, or if they occur consistently among all plants in the melon patch.

Other Reasons for No Melons

• While the transfer of pollen from male organs to female organs in cantaloupe blossoms is needed to produce a melon fruit, other factors can cause no production of melons. Cool, cloudy and rainy weather can limit the growth rate and development of blossoms on cantaloupe vines. These same weather conditions can prevent honeybees from regularly visiting the blossoms to increase the rate of pollination of female flowers. Fungal disease may also kill off flowers, young melons or entire plants, preventing any melon crop.