Each seed that grows in an apple or pear is the result of the separate pollination of five stigmas leading to two egg cells apiece. (See if you can find them in photo) It takes 68 visits on average by the honeybee to produce a fruit with a high number of seeds. The greater number of seeds the better chance the fruit will reach maturity. Well pollinated apples will have 7 to 10 seeds. Apples with less than 3 seeds will probably not mature. The apples that you see suddenly drop from the tree, during June, is the consequence of the fruit not having enough seeds to see it to maturity. It is good to see more and more people understanding the importance of our pollinators. If we lose our pollinators we will have to hand pollinate our fruit trees like they do in some parts of the world because they destroyed their pollinators.
Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the number of apples in a seed. -Robert Schuller
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