[thestens]

This happened last year and on some of my courgettes is happening again. They seem to be OK get to about 3 to 4 inches long then they start to rot. Any ideas?

[Kleftiwallah]

I think it is happening because the flower on the end hasn't been pollenated.

Cheers,     Tony.

[GrannieAnnie]

But if not pollinated, you wouldn't get a baby courgette would you?

[mumofstig]

All the female flowers have a small courgette behind when they open and sometimes it does grow that big before it rots off through lack of pollination

[gavinjconway]

Thanks Tony and Mum... I now know why some of mine do it as well  :blink:

[Chrysalis]

Is that a phantom pregnancy in veg, then? 

[thestens]

Thanks all I asked because I didnt believe my dad( he's 87) but its what he said about pollination. Had another look at the plants and really there is only one rotting and that was the first flower/fruit when there were no male flowers on the plants.

[Kirpi]

Are the female fruits fatter and rounder than the male fruits which are narrower and longer?

No, really, a serious question. It seems the ones that have blossom end rot are always shorter, fatter and rounder.

[DD.]

The males do not have fruits, only stems.

[Kirpi]

Thanks DD, I understand. So why are the fruits that develop blossom end rot rounder than the ones that develop into corgettes, or is this only on my plant?

[Welsh Merf]

I'm quite glad I read this. My brother-in-law has had the same trouble with his courgetts - rotting at the ends. However, he thought that it was because the wind had blown the plants over so that the tip of the growing courgette was touching the earth, which made them rot. Funnily enough, the ones that did not touch the earth have not rotted! Not that I personnally know anything, by the way!

[JayG]

There still seems to be a bit of confusion about this subject here and there! 

Only the female flowers can produce fruits, and they are the ones with the small embryonic fruit immediately behind the flower.

An unpollinated flower will initially appear to set, lose its petals, and start to grow a fruit, but this will then start to go soft and then rot off from the flower end.

Even pollinated courgettes can rot off, especially in very wet and still conditions where the remains of the flower get very soggy and don't drop off quickly enough, which can transfer rot to what would have been a healthy fruit.
In my experience that is much rarer than lack of pollination though.

[chrisnchris]

This has happened to me as well, thanks for the info, very useful....should we "make like the bees" with brushes & pollenate them "by hand" & how many flowers would you need to make this successful

[JayG]

Male flowers seem to vary in how much pollen they produce, and it also sometimes gets eaten by insects, so it's hard to say how many females can be "served" by one male flower. 

I use an artist's paint brush - a reasonable little dusting of pollen transferred from the middle of a male flower to the naughty bits in the middle of each female flower usually works fine unless one or other of the flowers has "gone over".

[Welsh Merf]

Having spoken to an "old hand" at the allotments, and checked up on some books, it seems that the "rotting tip" scenario is most likely Blossom End Rot, which also affects tomatoes. It is caused by irregular watering and feeding (apparently!) However, it can also be non-pollination as stated.