Then, by removing the pollen-producing tassels of one variety, production of seed can only result from pollen carried by wind from the tassels of the other. This system works well on corn because the tassels can be deftly removed before pollen is released. In most of our other crops, the male and female parts are in the same, usually small, flower. The hybrid may be superior to the parents in productiveness, uniformity, earliness, resistance to diseases or insects, or other factors. Growers currently are producing hybrid onions, carrots, cucumbers, sunflowers, and several other crops.
Research is under way on the production of hybrid cotton, soybeans, and alfalfa.
All of these are insect-pollinated crops and will need to use colonies of bees or other pollinating insects in their production. Although this handbook principally concerns honey bees and beekeeping, pollinating agents other than honey bees should be mentioned and their relative value considered. Wind probably is the most important pollinating agent, insofar as it benefits our existence. The flowers of most wind-pollinated plants are either male or female. The male flowers produce an abundance of pollen to be carried by the wind.