Pumpkin
A vegetable whose large flowers open at dawn and close by noon, rich in nectar and coarse pollen; fruit set depends largely on bees.
- Nectar
- Good
- Pollen
- Good
- Flowering
- JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
- Pollen colour
- Height
- 0,5-1 m
- Life cycle
- Annual
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Pumpkin is monoecious: male and female flowers are separate, and pollen must be carried by insects for fruit to set. The large, funnel-shaped flowers give plenty of nectar and a great deal of large, sticky pollen. Bees arrive at the field early in the morning; the flowers close towards noon and never open again.
Flowering
It flowers from June to September, with the male flowers appearing first. In Turkey the extensive fields of pumpkins grown for their seeds around Nevşehir, Kayseri and Eskişehir are a notable nectar source for apiaries in midsummer.
Honey and pollen
Commercial single-flower honey is not common; in regions with many fields it contributes noticeably to summer honeys. The pollen loads are orange-yellow, and because the grains are so large bees cannot pack them fully.
Note for the beekeeper
For pollination 1-2 colonies per hectare are recommended. Spraying should be done not in the morning but in the late afternoon, after the flowers have closed.