Tomatoes are mostly self-pollinated, but need the wind or something shaking the vines to get the pollen from the anthers to the the pistil. When my biochem professor learned I was doing some tomato genetics, he said he grew up in a college town and his first job was working for a tomato genetics professor. The kid's job was to walk down the rows of tomatoes in the greenhouse and tap the vines with a stick to move pollen from the anthers to the pistil of the same flower. I began beekeeping about 1946. I made my own hives in woodworking class at school out of tulip tree wood which I carried a mile to school. When I went to college, the hives died out after a few years and rotted to a pile of humus. I now have 3 hives, but no bees, but hope to get them stocked in 2005. I still do maize and vegetable genetics 25 miles west of Louisville, KY. We see a honeybee about 1 to 3 times per year. I have lots of white, yellow, and little Dutch clover and other nectar sources. Harold Eddleman, Ph.D., President, Indiana Biolab Molecular Genetics and Plant Viruses 14045 Huff St, Palmyra IN 47164 -----Original Message----- From: david flathman <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> Date: Wednesday, May 26, 2004 8:14 PM Subject: [BEE-L] polination >last week i met a big time 3rd generation tomato farmer with 250 acres under >cultivation, who knows everything there is to know about growing tomatoes. -- he dismissed me by saying the tomato flowers are >polinated by the wind and he didn't need bees. snip :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info --- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::