Hand Pollinating the Bhut Jolokia
How to ensure your bhut jolokia plant produces fruit
Not since I sweated buckets over the initial germination of my jolokia seeds have I been so concerned as to the plants success. So far they have exceeded all expectations and despite the cold wind and rain England has suffered every month since the seeds were sown in January they have grown into very healthy plants.
All has gone to plan as I write, (famous last words) granted a period of prolonged sunshine wouldn’t go amiss and by that I mean more than four hours in any given week but still they continue to grow. It’s not all doom and gloom, when the sun shines the temperature in my greenhouse can reach 38 degrees centigrade/ 98 farenheit so the plants respond accordingly.
I am now at the stage where the plants have begun to produce flowers and these need a helping hand if they are to germinate and produce fruit. I have deliberately grown all of the other varieties of chilli in a seperate polytunnel to avoid cross contamination which is easily done if there is a bee or two around.
All that is needed is a fine paintbrush and a pot of lukewarm water, dip the brush in the water and then gently brush the inside of the flowers, go from first flower to last and back again so that the first flower is pollinated. I shall repeat this every couple of days until I see a sign of fruit. In the meantime I shall leave a window open to attract the bees before closing it mid-afternoon to keep the heat in. The plants will continue to be dampened down with a fine spray of warm water to encourage more flowering heads….
Hello,
I have had only one actual naga flower, and the promise of many more, for over a week now. Any advice on how to get the flower buds to open? Very much enjoying the anticipation! My other chillies, ’super chillies’ are throwing fruit out all over the place. Hope you are having more success. Thanks for all the advice.
Guy
July 23, 2008 @ 5:19 pm
Guy,
These do take longer to fruit than other varieties so I am afraid you will have to be a little more patient. My bhut jolokia’s have only just begun to fruit even though they have been full of flowers for some time now. Just try and keep them warm and damp down with a spray of water. They should come good eventually. I shall be posting an update on the naga jolokia plants shortly.
Let me know how you get on
Miles
July 23, 2008 @ 5:42 pm
Miles,
Thanks. Will keep you posted. Thanks.
July 23, 2008 @ 7:26 pm
Guy,
Check back in the next couple of days, I’ve got some photos you may or may not be interested in
Miles
July 23, 2008 @ 9:06 pm
Is it necessary to cross-pollinate between plants, or can you pollinate using the same flowers from the same plant?
July 26, 2008 @ 12:39 pm
Helen,
You can pollinate each flower from the same plant, no problem. I kept brushing them every two to three days for about a week. It’s worked okay.
Welcome to the site and good luck with your chillies, I hope you return again soon.
Miles
July 26, 2008 @ 1:12 pm