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Varnava AI, Manganaris GA, Stavrinides MC. Assessing the biodiversity and the impact of pollinators on carob production. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0291431. [PMID: 37862335 PMCID: PMC10588836 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/22/2023] Open
Abstract
As the current climate crisis intensifies, drought resistant crops are becoming more important due to their ability to withstand the increasingly hotter and drier summers. Such crops are valuable for pollinators as they provide food resources for wild and managed species. The carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua L.) represents an example of a heat- and drought- resistant crop, able to grow in dry areas with practically no inputs. The current study assessed over two growing seasons the diversity of wild bees and other pollinators relying on carob flowers, as well as the contribution of animal pollination to carob production. Carob flowers were subjected to two treatments: Open pollination, where inflorescences were left untreated, and wind pollination, where inflorescences were bagged in a mesh during blooming. Weekly observations during blooming showed that Apis mellifera was the most frequent floral visitor followed by wild bees and wasps. Carob flowers were visited by at least 10 different wild bee species. Open-pollinated flowers produced significantly more pods, with the benefit ranging from 4 to 16 times higher production, depending on the region. Open pollination led to pods with greater weight, length and number of seeds compared to pods derived from wind pollination. The results of the current study highlight the importance of animal pollination to carob production, as well as the significance of carob trees to wild bee conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Androulla I. Varnava
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol, Cyprus
| | - George A. Manganaris
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol, Cyprus
| | - Menelaos C. Stavrinides
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science, Cyprus University of Technology, Limassol, Cyprus
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Zaller JG, Oswald A, Wildenberg M, Burtscher-Schaden H, Nadeem I, Formayer H, Paredes D. Potential to reduce pesticides in intensive apple production through management practices could be challenged by climatic extremes. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 872:162237. [PMID: 36796687 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2022] [Revised: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Apples are the third most produced fruit in the world, but their production is often pesticide-intensive. Our objective was to identify options for pesticide reduction using farmer records from 2549 commercial apple fields in Austria during five years between 2010 and 2016. Using generalized additive mixed modeling, we examined how pesticide use was related to farm management, apple varieties, and meteorological parameters, and how it affected yields and toxicity to honeybees. Apple fields received 29.5 ± 8.6 (mean ± SD) pesticide applications per season at a rate of 56.7 ± 22.7 kg ha-1, which included a total of 228 pesticide products with 80 active ingredients. Over the years, fungicides accounted for 71 % of the pesticide amounts applied, insecticides for 15 %, and herbicides for 8 %. The most frequently used fungicides were sulfur (52 %), followed by captan (16 %) and dithianon (11 %). Of insecticides, paraffin oil (75 %) and chlorpyrifos/chlorpyrifos-methyl (6 % combined) were most frequently used. Among herbicides, glyphosate (54 %), CPA (20 %) and pendimethalin (12 %) were most often used. Pesticide use increased with increasing frequency of tillage and fertilization, increasing field size, increasing spring temperatures, and drier summer conditions. Pesticide use decreased with increasing number of summer days with maximum temperatures >30 °C and number of warm, humid days. Apple yields were significantly positively related to the number of heat days, warm humid nights, and pesticide treatment frequency, but were not affected by frequency of fertilization and tillage. Honeybee toxicity was not related to insecticide use. Pesticide use and yield were significantly related to apple varieties. Our analysis shows that pesticide use in the apple farms studied can be reduced by less fertilization and tillage, partly because yields were >50 % higher than the European average. However, weather extremes related to climate change, such as drier summers, could challenge plans to reduce pesticide use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johann G Zaller
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, Institute of Zoology, Gregor Mendel Straße 33, 1180 Vienna, Austria.
| | - Andreas Oswald
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Department of Integrative Biology and Biodiversity Research, Institute of Zoology, Gregor Mendel Straße 33, 1180 Vienna, Austria
| | - Martin Wildenberg
- Environmental Research Institute & Environmental Organization Global2000/Friends of the Earth Austria, Neustiftgasse 36, 1070 Vienna, Austria
| | - Helmut Burtscher-Schaden
- Environmental Research Institute & Environmental Organization Global2000/Friends of the Earth Austria, Neustiftgasse 36, 1070 Vienna, Austria
| | - Imran Nadeem
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Department of Water, Atmosphere and Environment, Institute of Meteorology and Climatology, Peter-Jordan Straße 82, 1180 Vienna, Austria
| | - Herbert Formayer
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU), Department of Water, Atmosphere and Environment, Institute of Meteorology and Climatology, Peter-Jordan Straße 82, 1180 Vienna, Austria
| | - Daniel Paredes
- Universidad de Extremadura, Environmental Resources Analysis Research Group, Department of Plant Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences, Badajoz, Spain
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Samnegård U, Hambäck PA, Smith HG. Pollination treatment affects fruit set and modifies marketable and storable fruit quality of commercial apples. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2019; 6:190326. [PMID: 31903195 PMCID: PMC6936272 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.190326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2019] [Accepted: 11/13/2019] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Insect-mediated pollination increases yields of many crop species and some evidence suggests that it also influences crop quality. However, the mechanistic linkages between insect-mediated pollination and crop quality are poorly known. In this study, we explored how different pollination treatments affected fruit set, dry matter content (DMC), mineral content and storability of apples. Apple flowers supplementary pollinated with compatible pollen resulted in higher initial fruit set rates, higher fruit DMC and a tendency for lower fruit potassium (K) : calcium (Ca) ratio than flowers that received natural or no pollination. These variables are related to desirable quality aspects, because higher DMC is connected to higher consumer preference and lower K : Ca ratio is related to lower incidence of postharvest disorders during storage. Using structural equation modelling, we showed an indirect effect of pollination treatment on storability, however mediated by complex interactions between fruit set, fruit weight and K : Ca ratio. The concentrations of several elements in apples (K, zinc, magnesium) were affected by the interaction between pollination treatment and apple weight, indicating that pollination affects element allocation into fruits. In conclusion, our study shows that pollination and the availability of compatible pollen needs to be considered in the management of orchard systems, not only to increase fruit set, but also to increase the quality and potentially the storability of apples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ulrika Samnegård
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Research, Lund University, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
- Department of Biology, Lund University, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
| | - Peter A. Hambäck
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Henrik G. Smith
- Centre for Environmental and Climate Research, Lund University, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
- Department of Biology, Lund University, 223 62 Lund, Sweden
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Linden VMG, Grass I, Joubert E, Tscharntke T, Weier SM, Taylor PJ. Ecosystem services and disservices by birds, bats and monkeys change with macadamia landscape heterogeneity. J Appl Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Valerie M. G. Linden
- School of Mathematical & Natural Sciences and Core Team Member of the Centre for Invasion Biology University of Venda Thohoyandou South Africa
| | - Ingo Grass
- Department of Crop Sciences University of Goettingen Goettingen Germany
| | - Elsje Joubert
- School of Mathematical & Natural Sciences and Core Team Member of the Centre for Invasion Biology University of Venda Thohoyandou South Africa
| | - Teja Tscharntke
- Department of Crop Sciences University of Goettingen Goettingen Germany
| | - Sina M. Weier
- School of Mathematical & Natural Sciences and Core Team Member of the Centre for Invasion Biology University of Venda Thohoyandou South Africa
| | - Peter J. Taylor
- School of Mathematical & Natural Sciences and Core Team Member of the Centre for Invasion Biology University of Venda Thohoyandou South Africa
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Porcel M, Andersson GKS, Pålsson J, Tasin M. Organic management in apple orchards: Higher impacts on biological control than on pollination. J Appl Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Mario Porcel
- Integrated Plant Protection Unit, Department of Plant Protection BiologySwedish University of Agricultural Sciences Alnarp Sweden
- Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria (Agrosavia) Meta Colombia
| | - Georg K. S. Andersson
- Centre for Environmental and Climate ResearchLund University Lund Sweden
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural (IRNAD), Sede AndinaUniversidad Nacional de Río Negro (UNRN) y Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) San Carlos de Bariloche Argentina
| | - Joakim Pålsson
- Integrated Plant Protection Unit, Department of Plant Protection BiologySwedish University of Agricultural Sciences Alnarp Sweden
| | - Marco Tasin
- Integrated Plant Protection Unit, Department of Plant Protection BiologySwedish University of Agricultural Sciences Alnarp Sweden
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