Why cross pollanted crops have larger flower size and self pollinated crops have smaller flower size ?

The smaller size of self-pollinated flowers compared to cross-pollinated crops can be attributed to several factors, including resource allocation, genetic diversity, and reproductive strategy. Self-pollination is favored in plants with small, inconspicuous flowers due to the reduced costs associated with attracting pollinators. Self-pollinated plants invest fewer resources in flower size and show less variability in floral traits compared to cross-pollinated species. Trade-offs between selfing and outcrossing strategies in plants, emphasizing that self-pollination is advantageous under certain ecological conditions, such as low pollinator abundance or unpredictable pollination environments. Therefore, the smaller size of self-pollinated flowers relative to cross-pollinated crops reflects adaptations to optimize reproductive success in different ecological contexts, as elucidated by population genetic models and empirical studies in plant biology.