Pollination of apples and blueberries

The flowering of the apple tree

The forecasts of the Petit et fils orchards for the next apple harvest? It will be excellent, starting in August! Despite a very cold winter in 2015, little damage was observed on buds and apple blossoms. Flowering was even a bit more hasty than usual this spring. Normally, the flowering of this fruit tree is between 18 and 20 May. This year, it began on May 16th. This magnificent spectacle of nature is however of very short ... the flowering lasts only three or four days! In a single apple bud, we can find 5 to 6 flowers. On average, only 15% of the flowers of a tree will give a true apple.

Pollination: the process

Pollination is the transmission of pollen from one flower to another. This process is carried out, on the one hand by the wind, but above all thanks to the bees. The orchards include several hives of domestic bees, which are located in the number of one to four per hectare. This quantity of bees is enough to satisfy the pollination needs. Indigenous insect species also play an important role in the pollination of trees, mostly bumble bees and wild bees. An interesting fact to know is that to produce a fruit of interesting size, the bee must insert two to three pollen of different provenance in the flower. A sign that pollination has been effective? The apple blossoms falls!

The Domaine du Flanc Sud

Did you know that Vergers Petit et Fils also have a blueberry field? Blueberry cultivation is located at Domaine du Flanc Sud. Like the apple trees, blooming is particularly abundant this year! What distinguishes the blueberry flower from the apple blossom is its corolla formation. The flower thus takes the form of a tube, which makes access to the pollen more difficult. This implies that pollination is carried out exclusively by insects capable of entering the interior of the flower. The drone is unfortunately excluded, due to its large size. Only the bee (wild or domestic) has a size small enough to transmit pollen from one flower to another. Due to this difficulty of easy access to the precious pollen, the blueberry flower is unfortunately not the preferred destination of the bees! The flowering of the blueberry usually takes place one week after the apple trees. The harvest of the blueberry comes sooner than apple: it is in early July that we can enjoy this little fruit!

Honey too!

Bee hives serve not only for the pollination of all fruit tree species present in orchards, but also for the production of honey. It is from the pollen of our apple trees and the blueberry that is made honey sold in our small boutique. Come and discover the production of our different kinds of honey! The boutique is open every day, all year round, from 9am to 5pm. Take the opportunity to discover our variety of products sold at the cider house and enjoy a meal at the creperie! For more details on the activities and products offered by the Petit et fils Orchards, please visit: https://www.auxvergerspetit.com/. We are also on Facebook. On the page of Les Vergers Petits et fils and the Domaine du Flanc Sud, do not miss the explanatory videos on pollination and several pertinent information about our activities: https://www.facebook.com/vergerspetitetfils/ and https: //www.facebook.com/domaineduflancsud.

|Pollination of apples and blueberries | ** | The blossoming of the apple tree | ** | Pollination: the process | ** | The Domaine du Flanc Sud | ** | Honey too! |