How Do Greenhouse-Grown Tomatoes Get Pollinated?

Manual Pollination

• Manual pollination occurs when the plants are pollinated by human labor. One approach is to hit the overhead, supporting wires with a broom handle. This type of movement will shake the plants that are attached to the wires. This shaking will remove the pollen from the flower's anther and allow it to shower down upon other the flowers. Some of the pollen will land on the stigma and pollinate the flower. Another approach is to use an electric vibrator. This can be a commercial type or an electric toothbrush. This process consists of touching each flower with a vibrator, shaking pollen loose and transferring a small amount from one flower to the next. These techniques are very labor intensive and are not very successful.

Natural Pollinator Bees

• Bumblebees are used in greenhouses to pollinate tomato plants. The greenhouse will need one hive per half-acre of tomato plants. The bumblebees will arrive in a cardboard box and will need to be moved immediately to the greenhouse. The bumblebees will need to be supplemented with a container of sugar water.

  Bumblebees can only be used in greenhouses that are not treated with pesticides. While they are not long-lived insects, the use of the bumblebee is the efficient way of pollinating tomatoes.

Electric Vibrating Benches

• These greenhouse benches are designed to move back and forth while shaking the pollen from the flowers. The plants will need to be placed on these benches and will need to be at least 2 feet tall.

Mist Blowers

• A mist blower is a piece of equipment that produces a concentrated air stream. This air stream must be guided so that each flower is hit for proper pollination. This process must be repeated until the bloom dies or fruit is formed on the flower stem. The efficiency of this technique is very labor intensive and is not always successful.