Incomplete pollination

Did you make an exit hole for air in the fig. Looks like an air cavity. Was the fig positioned on the tree in a way that that lighter area was in the up position? Cool pic though.
 
FruitBrute said:
Did you make an exit hole for air in the fig. Looks like an air cavity. Was the fig positioned on the tree in a way that that lighter area was in the up position? Cool pic though.
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It was positioned sideways and I filled the cavity with water on every fig I ripened. I do not poke extra holes or anything just stick the needle through the ostiole. So far no other fig has done this but my guess was part of the figs are behind in development early on. Some of the misshapen figs look funny or have odd flat spots and those spots have flowers delayed in development from my experience and usually don’t ripen at all. Air pocket may be a factor also. Either way it was surprising when I cut it open.
 
It is part of the "Lamonte method" of pollination. I use it now and think it works great. Before inserting the syringe with the pollen mixture, you poke a hole in the side of the fig that penetrates into the center cavity of the fig. I just use one of those small, long pins that have that little bit of plastic on the end for a better grip. I think the hole serves two purposes. First, it relieves the pressure that you sometimes get when you inject the pollen mixture through the ostiole and ensures that the pollen mixture can more easily get into every area inside the fig. The second benefit to using this method is that you know when the fig is "full" because the pollen solution will begin coming out of the hole you made. No guessing if you put enough pollen mixture in or not.

I have used the Lamonte method quite a bit in the past two seasons and there is never damage or spoilage from the puncture hole. The hole in the fig closes itself up pretty quickly and heals itself.

There might be other methods that use this same technique (or there might not be), but it I think it works great.

@GoodFriendMike can add more detail or probably a more clear explanation, but this is my preferred method to pollinate.
 
I came up with the Lamonte method to make it simple for people to get a full pollination. It is a hybrid method. One of the ways they used to pollinate figs for breeding or studies was to poke a hole in the side and use something like a ear syringe to blow pollen into the fig. I noticed a lot of pressure when trying to inject the figs and incomplete pollinations. So I simply added the hole like they used to for the blowing pollen in method. It works great. :)
 
GoodFriendMike said:
I came up with the Lamonte method to make it simple for people to get a full pollination. It is a hybrid method. One of the ways they used to pollinate figs for breeding or studies was to poke a hole in the side and use something like a ear syringe to blow pollen into the fig. I noticed a lot of pressure when trying to inject the figs and incomplete pollinations. So I simply added the hole like they used to for the blowing pollen in method. It works great. :)
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Really good video. Thanks for sharing
 
Majority of my figs were flat or pointed up a bit. With the force the needle shoots the solution in I don’t think there will be any spots missed inside the fig. It’s basically a jet stream that splashes all over inside and I fill it until it pushes out around the needle. Out of all of them only one has done this like the photo. Some figs will swell like a balloon and those may be the figs needing a breather hole otherwise I’m not sure how necessary it would be with the fluid method.
 
GoodFriendMike said:
I came up with the Lamonte method to make it simple for people to get a full pollination. It is a hybrid method. One of the ways they used to pollinate figs for breeding or studies was to poke a hole in the side and use something like a ear syringe to blow pollen into the fig. I noticed a lot of pressure when trying to inject the figs and incomplete pollinations. So I simply added the hole like they used to for the blowing pollen in method. It works great. :)
Click to expand...
Ross showed this method on YouTube as well.
 
Bofig said:
It was positioned sideways and I filled the cavity with water on every fig I ripened. I do not poke extra holes or anything just stick the needle through the ostiole. So far no other fig has done this but my guess was part of the figs are behind in development early on. Some of the misshapen figs look funny or have odd flat spots and those spots have flowers delayed in development from my experience and usually don’t ripen at all. Air pocket may be a factor also. Either way it was surprising when I cut it open.
Click to expand...
One trick that sometimes helps is driving a pilot hole with a pin through the ostiole before injecting - the pin i use is slightly bigger than the 25g needle so air naturally escapes. I use a T-pin for some leverage. 1756477144613.png
 
GoodFriendMike said:
I came up with the Lamonte method to make it simple for people to get a full pollination. It is a hybrid method. One of the ways they used to pollinate figs for breeding or studies was to poke a hole in the side and use something like a ear syringe to blow pollen into the fig. I noticed a lot of pressure when trying to inject the figs and incomplete pollinations. So I simply added the hole like they used to for the blowing pollen in method. It works great. :)
Click to expand...

Does the secondary hole heal over?

Have you every experienced problems with discolouration or pest entry there?

Just curious.
 
TorontoJoe said:
Does the secondary hole heal over?

Have you every experienced problems with discolouration or pest entry there?

Just curious.
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I poke the hole close to the top and it closes up quickly. Sometimes I have seen it leave a scar/hard spot other times it heals perfectly and you would be hard pressed to find where you poked the hole.
 
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