Breaking or cutting the pistil (actually the style of the pistil) by itself is not likely to help a difficult pod setter. The liquid that is produced naturally by the stigma (stigmatic fluid) is not the same as the liquid that may ooze from a cut style (stylar fluid). The stigmatic fluid is important for the pollen tube growth. The stylar fluid is likely to cause the pollen to burst and die. Breaking or cutting the style is also likely to crush the channel through which the pollen tube has to grow.
I have read the suggestion that a sharp razor blade wielded like a sword can cut the style without crushing the stylar channel. Then one would need to blot the stylar fluid dry and add stigmatic fluid (from the moist stigma of another flower) or use an artificial pollen germination mixture. However, I do not expect that doing this would help a difficult pod setter. Not setting pods is more likely caused by the daylily incompatibility system, genetically or environmentally low pod infertility or sterility, etc.
@beckygardener you asked,
If the seedling is from a desired pod parent, does the seedling tend to have bloom traits that favor the pod parent? I've heard the issue of pod vs. pollen parent numerous times and have always wondered why?
The answer is that there is no valid evidence that daylily pod parents pass different traits to seedlings [than pollen parents], although some hybridizers do believe that they do and other hybridizers do not.
