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Show Bees Are Factor In Alfalfa Seed Production Article I POLLINATION A stable supply of alfalfa seed is essential to the welfare of A-merican A-merican agriculture. During the last decade over 70 million pounds of cleaned seed have been required requir-ed each year to maintain hay fields and pastures. The problem of alfalfa pollination pollina-tion has been subject to misconceptions miscon-ceptions for many years. At first alfalfa was believed to be wholly self-fertile and to pollinate itself automatically in the manner of peas and beans. Later it was recognized re-cognized that "tripping" is essential essen-tial for commercial seed production. produc-tion. The relative importance of the agencies capable of tripping the flowers cannot be understood until the peculiar mechanism - of the flower has been studied in some detail. The male and female parts of alfalfa flower, although enclosed in a sheath (keel) and in intimate contact, are non-functional until released. This process of releasing the sexual parts from the keel is known as tripping. Tripping is essential es-sential for pod development. A-bout A-bout one percent of the non-tripped flowers form pods compared to 50 percent or more of the tripped trip-ped flowers under field conditions. When tripping does not occur the flowers usually drop. Pollination and fertilization follow tripping. Pollination is actually the transfer of pollen from the anthers or male part to the stigma or female part. This defines the part that bees play in alfalfa seed production, including in-cluding tripping. Fertilization (sub sequent to pollination) is a plant function which defines the part the alfalfa plant plays in the so-called so-called pollination. Once on the tripped stigma the pollen grain germinates and sends a germ tube down the core tissue of the sexual column (style) to the ovul (potential seed). Actual fertilization is accomplished by the union of the male part from the germ tube with the female part. (Article II will follow next week) |