Abstract:
Many crop plants rely on insect pollination, particularly insect-pollinated crops which are functionally dioecious. These crops require insects to move pollen between separate plants which are functionally male or female. While honey bees are typically considered the most important crop pollinator species, many other insects are known to visit crops but the pollination contribution of the full diversity of these flower visitors is poorly understood. In this study, we examine the role of diverse insect pollinators for two kiwifruit cultivars as model systems for dioecious crops: Actinidia chinensis var. deliciosa \'Hayward\' (a green-fleshed variety) and A. chinensis var. chinensis \'Zesy002\' (a gold-fleshed variety). In our round-the-clock insect surveys, we identified that psychodid flies and mosquitoes were the second and third most frequent floral visitors after honey bees (Apis mellifera L), but further work is required to investigate their pollination efficiency. Measures of single-visit pollen deposition identified that several insects, including the bees Leioproctus spp. and Bombus spp. and the flies Helophilus hochstetteri and Eristalis tenax, deposited a similar amount of pollen on flowers as honey bees (Apis mellifera). Due to their long foraging period and high pollen deposition, we recommend the development of strategies to boost populations of Bombus spp., Eristalis tenax and other hover flies, and unmanaged bees for use as synergistic pollinators alongside honey bees.
摘要:
许多农作物依靠昆虫授粉,特别是功能性雌雄异株的昆虫授粉作物。这些作物需要昆虫在功能上为雄性或雌性的单独植物之间移动花粉。虽然蜜蜂通常被认为是最重要的作物传粉物种,已知许多其他昆虫可以访问农作物,但对这些花卉游客的全部多样性的授粉贡献却知之甚少。在这项研究中,我们研究了两种猕猴桃品种作为雌雄异株作物模型系统的多种昆虫传粉者的作用:猕猴桃var。deliciosa\'Hayward\'(一种绿肉品种)和A.chinensisvar。chinensis\'Zesy002\'(一种金肉品种)。在我们全天候的昆虫调查中,我们发现,精神病苍蝇和蚊子是仅次于蜜蜂(ApismelliferaL)的第二和第三最常见的花卉游客,但是需要进一步的工作来研究它们的授粉效率。单次访问花粉沉积的措施确定了几种昆虫,包括蜜蜂Leioproctusspp.和Bombusspp。和苍蝇赫罗布希勒斯·霍克斯特特利和埃里斯塔利斯·特纳克斯,在花朵上沉积的花粉量与蜜蜂(Apismellifera)相似。由于它们的觅食期长,花粉沉积量高,我们建议制定策略来增加Bombusspp的种群。,Eristalistenax和其他悬停苍蝇,和未管理的蜜蜂一起用作蜜蜂的协同传粉者。