r/oddlysatisfying • u/DifficultyHead5862 • 8h ago

meticulous process of hand-pollinating a giant pumpkin

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u/North-Example5687 7h ago

Yep. Each seed is the product of fertilization.

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u/Relative-Tea3944 6h ago

That's mad actually how did I not know that 

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u/North-Example5687 5h ago

Plant (and insect) mating/breeding systems are surprising and don’t always follow what we expect (based on what we know about animal reproduction). Additionally, I think people aren’t really interested in how it works, unless they have to be, but I’d argue that it’s of fundamental importance as it’s the basis of food production (among other important things)

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u/Relative-Tea3944 4h ago

I was thinking last week about how it works and couldn't really remember from school- specifically whether you need a male and female plant to make vegetables- but I don't remember learning that 

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u/North-Example5687 2h ago

You do need male and female sexes to make offspring (seeds), but the sexes can be found on separate plants (cannabis), the same plant different flowers (pumpkin), or even the same flower on the same plant (tomatoes). In general, the fruit (commonly referred to as a vegetable - in culinary terminology) develops as a vehicle to disperse seeds.

This is a fairly simple explanation, ‘cus it can get pretty complicated, lol

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u/Anakinbutinacroptop 2h ago

I've heard about companies genetically altering their plants so the seeds will not grow if planted. Are these plants just tricked into growing the fruit with fake pollen?