Why bitter gourds do not produce fruits? There are many reasons why bitter gourds do not produce fruits. It is frustrating when the plant you grow does not produce any fruits at all.
The bitter gourd plant takes a little bit of time to grow and you need to wait a few months for them to bear fruits. Once the fruits are set and continue to grow, the grower will feel better. It will be exciting if there are many fruits on the plant because an abundant harvest is coming.
Why Bitter Gourds Do Not Produce Fruits?
There will be around 15 to 25 bitter gourd fruits per plant or even more if the plant thrives well. But not all the time this will happen. There are times that the bitter gourd plant does not produce fruits.
There are some reasons why it happens and you need to figure out the cause why your bitter gourd does not fruit. When you know the possible cause you need to proceed on how to fix it. Once the problem is fixed, the plants may now produce fruits.
If you know that you take care of bitter gourds well but still the plants do not fruit, here below are some of the possible problems and some of the solutions you can do to make your plants fruits.
The Bitter Gourd Plant Is Too Young
One reason why your bitter gourd plants do not fruit is that they are still too young. When the plant is too young, they do not have the ability to fruit yet. They need some time for them to fully develop and mature before they bear fruits.
When you know how long it takes to grow bitter gourds, it will be easy for you to figure out or estimate how long you need to wait before fruits appear on the plant. Let the plants mature and then wait for those fruits to show on the plant.
The bitter gourd plants may show some flowers 30 days after transplanting and you need to wait for the fruits to appear. Most of the fruits appear during 2 and 3 months. Knowing why bitter gourds do not fruit and knowing some solution will really help them set fruits.
The Bitter Gourd Flowers Are Not Pollinated
Another reason why bitter gourd plants do not have fruit is that the flowers are not pollinated. Are bitter gourds self-pollinating? The bitter gourds are not self-pollinating and they need the help of pollinators like bees.
In order for the fruits to appear, the flowers must be pollinated first. When you observe that many bees are roaming around on your bitter gourd plant, then you will feel confident that the fruits will develop.
Bees transfer the pollen from a male flower to the stigma of a female flower. When there are no bees on the plant, you need to do hand-pollination. Hand pollination is easy to do. You just need to use a brush and transfer the pollen from a male flower to a female flower.
You can also just get the male flower and then brush them with a female flower in order for the fruits to set. You also need to know when the bitter gourds bloom so that it will be easy for you to know when is the possible time to do it.
Lacking Sunlight
The bitter gourd needs sunlight for it to thrive well. Getting enough food with the help of the sun will also help the production of fruits. The fruits will become bigger when the plant is getting its needs.
You need to grow bitter gourd plants in a sunny location in order for them to receive enough sunlight. Young plants need at least 4 hours of sun and at least 6 hours for mature ones.
Lacking Water
The bitter gourds need enough water for them to thrive and produce flowers and fruits. The plants will be happy when it rains. The rainwater is enough for them to grow.
But when there is no rain, you need to water them regularly. The plants need more water during the summer because the temperature becomes hot and the soil dries fast. But avoid overwatering the plant to prevent root rot and other problems.
Lacking Nutrients
You need to fertilize your bitter gourd in order for them to produce fruits. A fertilizer rich in potassium is needed so that the plant will bear fruits. The potassium will encourage more fruits on the plant so you need to give them this kind of nutrients.
There are many kinds of fertilizer you can use to help the plants grow. You can use organic fertilizer which is made up of organic matter. It will be great to use especially if you are practicing organic gardening.
Pests And Diseases Attack
You need to control diseases and pests on bitter gourds in order for them to keep thriving. Pests and diseases can cause damage to the plant which triggers them not to fruit.
You can use commercial fertilizer or make organic ones if you don’t want chemicals on your plants. When there are no pests on your plant, then they may produce fruits that you expected.
Too Many Flowers On Bitter Gourd But No Fruit
The bitter gourds may produce many flowers but not produce fruits. There will be more male flowers than female flowers. And in order for the fruits to produce, female flowers must be pollinated.
You can identify the bitter gourd flowers if they are male or female by looking at their appearance. Male flowers have pollen inside and are orange in color. It has a thin stalk and has no swollen part.
While the female flowers are colored yellow on all parts and you will not see orange pollen on the flower. The female flowers also have a swollen part that looks like a baby bitter melon and has a little bit thicker stalk.
When you see that there is a small baby bitter melon on the flower, that small fruit still needs pollination. If there will be no pollen transfer to the stigma of the flower, small fruits will turn yellow and fall to the ground.
How Do You Get Bitter Gourds To Bear Fruits?
In order for the bitter gourds to bear fruits, you need to make sure that the plant is getting enough water, sunlight, and nutrients. You need also to observe if there are pollinators like bees roaming around your plants to make sure that fruits will set.
If you can’t see pollinators, you need to do hand pollination. Hand pollination is needed and it is easy to do. You need to get pollen from healthy male flowers in order for the fruits to develop.
Once everything is going great, you just need to wait for some time before harvesting bitter gourds.
It is great to know why bitter gourds do not produce fruits. It will give gardeners some ideas on how to fix the problem and make their plants bear fruits. It takes a little bit of time for the plant to give you fruits and you need to wait for the fruits to appear.
Waiting is needed but it will be frustrating if the plant doesn’t produce fruits at all. So you need to know the plants well and identify the possible solutions to the problem.
Once you figure it out then it will be easier to grow bitter gourds the next time. Sometimes some beginners want to try new plants to grow in their garden and sometimes it didn’t go well the first time. So with the experience learned during the first try in growing bitter gourds, it will be much easier to do it on the second try.