A lot of friends love figs cuz they tasted sweet and attractive, also rich in nutritional value. It’s been known by the name of “fruit of life”.

Of course not eaten fig friends, the impression of it is more its name, that this fruit tree does not have flowers, but in fact the fig is not flowerless, it is only a “cryptogamous fruit”, the flowers are small and not naked. So how figs are pollinated? What is the reason why figs do not bear fruit? This article gives the answer.

ABOUT THE FLOWERS OF FIGS

Fig flowers in botany called “cryptic inflorescence”, through the plant’s appearance is difficult to observe and distinguish, so with a person to create an impression of figs without flowers.

However, if the buds between the axils of new fig branches are dissected longitudinally, it is possible to observe the flowers of figs, which have both male and female flowers, together in a fat capsule.

If not observed longitudinally, but from the outside, it looks like a full-bodied bud.

HOW FIGS ARE POLLINATED

Usually, during the flowering season, there are many bees or other insects moving around the field, which in turn helps the fruit tree to complete the pollination process.

But the fig orchard is not quite the same, the general fig orchard throughout the year hardly see the bees or insects activity figure. So how is this pollination done?

Since figs are “cryptic inflorescence”, most insects cannot approach the uni-sexual flowers inside and thus cannot complete the pollination process.

But there is one insect that, because of its pinpoint size, has evolved and adapted to get closer to the inner uni-sexual flowers and thus complete the pollination process of figs.

It is the banyan bee, a species of honey bee that is almost invisible to the naked eye.

It enters the fruit through a small hole in the top of the fig and contacts the uni-sexual flowers, where it lays eggs, hatches, matures, and then leaves the fruit to start its pollination process for the next year.

However, the pollination method is different for the differences that exist between different fig varieties.

The play about professionals, domestic cuttings planted fig varieties are basically ordinary type varieties, no bee pollination can be fruit.

WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE THERE IS NO FLOWER?

In fact, the figs we usually eat are not its real fruit, but the fleshy ball formed by the expansion of the receptacle, the so-called fig is actually a compound fruit formed by the development of the large receptacle and stamens and so on.

When you break open the fig, you will see that there are filaments and many small seeds inside, the filaments are the stamens, and the small rod is the seeds produced by pollination.

Fig flowers only a small stamen, no petals, a large receptacle will be those small stamens wrapped up, you can only see the top exposed little pink stamens, while the female stamens are growing along the four walls of the receptacle.

FIGS DO NOT RESULT IN THE REASON

Poor pollination

From the above, figs are “hidden inflorescence”, so that pollination and fertilization conditions are relatively difficult, if pollination is poor natural is very difficult to result. Experienced friends can use cotton swabs, brushes, and other artificially assisted pollination, which can improve the fruiting rate of figs.

Improper water and fertilizer

Figs prefer a moist soil environment, but also have a certain demand for fertilizer, if the figs less water lack fertilizer, nutrition can not keep up, naturally can not bear fruit.

Improper pruning

Like other fruit trees, figs also need pruning to normalize the results. In the fig growth period, if you can not timely scientific and reasonable pruning, will occur in the branches of long, confusing plant shape, dense impermeable phenomenon, and then cause figs can not normal results.

Insufficient light

Figs like light, light is not enough to easily lead to the occurrence of fruit, fruitless, fruit small, and other problems. According to the normal situation, in the fig’s reproductive life, the more sunlight received, the more light, the more fruit, the larger the size, and the better the taste quality will be.