Pollination Management

Description

CHAPTER ONE

1.0                                          INTRODUCTION

1.1                          BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT

Pollination is the transfer of pollen grains from the anther, which is the male part of the flower, to the stigma, which is on the female part. This process normally precedes fertilization. It is an important process in the reproduction of plants without which sexual reproduction will not take place. It is a process that has been coordinated and perfected over the ages as plants coevolved with animals, where the animals act as pollinators or pollination agents. The plants and animals coexist in same habitats [1].

The coevolution between plants and animals in respect of pollination led to the development of pollination syndromes. In pollination syndromes, specific pollination agents pollinate specific plants or flowers. This is, however, not a water tight arrangement as there are polyphilic flowers which attract and are pollinated by different types of pollination agents and polytrophic pollinators which are attracted and pollinated by different types of flowers. Pollination syndromes are a symbiotic relationship between the plants and the agents or animals in which both benefit. The agents get nutrients from the flowers and the plants benefit from improved reproduction. The latter is very important in crop production.

Pollination management is the label for horticultural practices that accomplish or enhance pollination of a crop, to improve yield or quality, by understanding of the particular crop’s pollination needs, and by knowledgeable management of pollenizers, pollinators, and pollination conditions.

There are many different means of pollination management that are used, both other insects and other mechanisms. There are other insects commercially available that are more efficient, like the blue orchard bee for fruit and nut trees, local bumblebees better specialized for some other crops, hand pollination that is essential for production of hybrid seeds and some greenhouse situations, and even pollination machines.

Recognition of the mechanisms of biotic pollination led to important agricultural innovation, with extensive economic consequences; management of pollinator species allowed for enhanced crop productivity and for commercialization (and export) of numerous crop plants. In North America, only a handful of pollinator species are actively managed—that is, they are semidomesticated, produced in large quantities, and bought and sold commercially. Of these, Apis mellifera L., the western honey bee, is the premier actively managed pollinator worldwide, highly valued for its activity as a pollinator and for its production of wax and honey (Delaplane and Mayer, 2000; Free, 1993; Kearns et al., 1998; McGregor, 1976).

Native to Eurasia, the honey bee has been hunted for its honey and wax for at least 6,000 years (Crane, 1983, 1990) and records of semidomestication and hive management date back to ancient Egypt (Crane, 1999). A. mellifera rapidly became the primary pollinator for modern agriculture, and managed colonies were transported around the world, first arriving in North America with European colonists in the 1600s (Sheppard, 1989a). Modern apiculture in North America dates to 1862, when L. L. Langstroth, a Philadelphia minister who kept bees as a hobby, exploited the concept of “bee space” to construct movable-frame, top-bar hives that allowed beekeepers to harvest honey, manipulate their colonies, and increase efficiency without harming the bees (Langstroth, 1862). Langstroth’s invention resulted in the large-scale commercial beekeeping and honey industry that exists today.

Honey bees pollinate more than 100 commercially grown crops in North America (Delaplane and Mayer, 2000; Free, 1993; Kearns et al., 1998; McGregor, 1976). In the United States, about 135,000 beekeepers manage 2.4 million colonies of honey bees. Most beekeepers (about 94 percent) are hobbyists with 25 colonies or fewer. Another 5 percent are called sideliners, each managing 25–300 colonies. Only about 1 percent are commercial beekeepers and they generally manage between 300 and 60,000 colonies each to provide most of the nation’s pollination services (D. Weaver, The American Beekeeping Federation, presentation to the committee on October 19, 2005).

Beekeepers in the United States have formed hundreds of local associations and two national trade organizations. The American Beekeeping Federation (ABF) has about 1200 members (ABF, 2005), and the American Honey Producers Association (AHPA) has about 500 members (S. Park, AHPA, personal communication, June 12, 2006). The Eastern Apicultural Society, Heartland Apicultural Association, and the Western Apicultural Society meet annually and provide extensive educational opportunities for beekeepers. Many beekeepers, however, do not belong to any formal organization.

Other species of pollinators for which active management systems have been developed include several species of bumble bees (Bombus), mainly for pollination of greenhouse tomatoes (de Ruijter, 1997; Hughes, 1996; Kevan, et al., 1991; Macfarlane et al., 1994; Plowright, 1996; van Heemert et al., 1990), and leafcutting bees (Megachile rotundata) (Bohart, 1972a; Frank, 2003), which pollinate most of the alfalfa in parts of the arid Pacific Northwest (R. Bitner, presentation to the committee, January 14, 2006). To a lesser extent, alkali bees (Nomia melanderi) (Bohart, 1972a) also are managed for alfalfa pollination (Stephen, 2003).

Mason bees, including the Japanese horn-faced bee, Osmia cornifrons, are managed to some extent, mainly for pollination of apple orchards in the eastern United States (Batra, 1982; Bohart, 1972b), although they are used extensively in Japan for pollinating the entire apple crop. Several native Osmia species, notably O. lignaria, are used to pollinate apples in the northwestern United States (Bosch and Kemp, 2002) and in eastern Canada (Sheffield, 2006) and to pollinate cherries (Bosch and Kemp, 1999, 2000, 2001). Methods for cultivating this species are well developed (Griffin, 1993; Torchio, 2003).

1.2                                   PROBLEM STATEMENT

Without pollination some plants will remain infertile, virtually all of the world’s seed plants need to be pollinated. This is just as true for cone-bearing plants, such as pine trees, as for the more colorful and familiar flowering plants. Pollen, looking like insignificant yellow dust, bears a plant’s male sex cells and is a vital link in the reproductive cycle. Pollination is not just fascinating natural history. It is an essential ecological survival function. Without pollinators, the human race and all of earth’s terrestrial ecosystems would not survive. Of the 1,400 crop plants grown around the world, i.e., those that produce all of our food and plant-based industrial products, almost 80% require pollination by animals. Visits from bees and other pollinators also result in larger, more flavorful fruits and higher crop yields. Globally, pollination services are likely worth more than 3 trillion dollars.

• More than half of the world’s diet of fats and oils come from animal-pollinated plants (oil palm, canola, sunflowers, etc.).
• More than 150 food crops in the Nigeria. depend on pollinators, including almost all fruit and grain crops.

With adequate pollination, wildflowers:

• Reproduce and produce enough seeds for dispersal and propagation
• Maintain genetic diversity within a population
• Develop adequate fruits to entice seed dispersers

1.3                                    AIM OF THE PROJECT

The main aim of this work is to study the practice of pollination in plants which improve crop pollination.

1.4                            OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

1. Identify economically-valuable pollinators and the factors affecting their abundance.
2. Develop habitat management practices to improve crop pollination.

iii. Determine performance of alternative managed bees as specialty crop pollinators.

1. Demonstrate and deliver Integrated Crop Pollination (ICP) practices for specialty crops.
2. Economics and modeling of pollination ecosystem services.

1.5                          SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT

The study the combined use of multiple pollinator species, habitat augmentation, and crop management practices to provide reliable and economical pollination of crops. This approach is analogous to Integrated Pest Management in that we aim to provide decision-support tools to reduce risk and improve returns through the use of multiple tactics tailored to specific crops and situations. By developing context-specific ICP programs, this project will improve sustainability of the country specialty crops and thereby help ensure the continued ability of growers to reap profitable returns from their investments in land, plants, and other production inputs.

1.6                           ADVANTAGES OF POLLINATION

1. It increases yield in terms of seed yield and fruit yield in many crops
2. It improves quality of fruits and seeds

• Pollination increases oil content of seeds in sunflower

1. Pollination is a must in some self incompatible crops for seed set

1.7                                    RESEARCH QUESTION

1. Why is pollination important to humans?
2. What are managed pollinators?

• How can we increase pollination?

1. What are the types of pollination?