Pollination - with maggots?

[Caithness Gardener]

Can't remember which thread I cam across it in but some bright spark claimed to buy fishing maggots and then let them develop into blowflies to pollinate his (or her ) greenhouse/polytunnel.

1. Has anyone done this?

2. Has it worked?

3. Would your wife go anywhere near the polytunnel?

[srodders]

3. Would your wife go anywhere near the polytunnel?

Might be worth a go then

[Two_Sheds]

that's just gross. why not open the greenhouse and let the hoverflies/bees do the pollinating?

[Snadger]

that's just gross. why not open the greenhouse and let the hoverflies/bees do the pollinating?

Not as much fun!!!

[muckdiva]

Blowflies are one of the recommended ways of pollinating crops in isolation cages for seed production according to Sue Stickland's book, so I should think it would work, but how pleasant a process it is..... no idea Maggots, yeeuukk

[nick the grief]

you don't need maggots just the "casters" MD. The reason you use them Two sheds is that you are trying to restrict cross pollenation so you grow the crop in a small "tent" ov enviromesh and leave the pollenating to the flies. It is also used by HRI ( Horticultural Research Institute) at wellsbourne as they run a seed bank