Pollination of sweet pepper, aubergine, melon and courgette

Pollinators in fruiting vegetables

Growers bring in bumblebees for sweet pepper and aubergine, and bees or bumblebees for melon and courgette. Good pollination helps fruit set and gives more uniform fruit. How well it works depends on the colonies, the climate and the light in the greenhouse.

What HiveWatcher measures

• Colony activity at every hive, with alerts when it drops.
• Flower visits in the crop with the BeeNode, per section.
• Light and climate at the hive entrance, including under plastic in warm regions and under LED lighting in winter.

For growers and advisers

Pollination data per greenhouse and section helps you decide where to add or replace hives, and gives your crop adviser something to go on. See how HiveWatcher works, or read how many hives per hectare, and where to place them.

Frequently asked questions

Do sweet peppers need pollinators?

Sweet pepper flowers can pollinate themselves, but bumblebee visits give heavier, better-shaped fruit with more seeds. More on the page about sweet pepper pollination.

How is aubergine pollinated in the greenhouse?

Like tomato flowers, aubergine flowers release their pollen when they are vibrated. Bumblebees do this with buzz pollination, which helps fruit set in a greenhouse where there is hardly any wind.

Why do melon and courgette need bees or bumblebees?

Courgette has separate male and female flowers, and most melons have male flowers next to the flowers that set fruit. Pollen has to be carried from flower to flower; with too few visits, young fruit abort or grow misshapen.

How many hives do I need?

That depends on the crop, the area and the season. Read how many hives per hectare, and where to place them.