The role of insect pollinators in avocado production: A global review

Dymond, Keira; Celis‐Diez, Juan L.; Potts, Simon G.; Howlett, Brad G.; Willcox, Bryony K.; Garratt, Michael P. D.

doi:10.1111/jen.12869

Cited by 45 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 48 publications

(92 reference statements)

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“…Our data shows a unique bee community visiting each of the two crops studied, highlighting that crop species in the tropical mountains likely rely on more specialized assemblages of bees. A recent review of avocado pollination found that stingless bees are as effective as the honey bee at avocado pollination and suggested that the contribution from wild pollinators to avocado pollination may be higher in Central American countries, owing to the co-evolution of pollinators and avocados in Central America, but found that no studies of avocado pollination had yet been conducted in any Central American country 31 . Our study found that 10 of 19 bee species collected from avocado flowers were stingless bee species, and for 7 of those 10 stingless bee species, we observed abundance differences by elevation; all 7 stingless bee species were more frequently observed in the lower elevation zone.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, if wild honey bee populations decline, then local farmers will have to rely more heavily on native species, particularly the highly abundant social stingless bees (Tribe Meliponini). Wild bee species richness, total bee abundance, functional group diversity, and the abundance of the most effective bee species have all been linked to crop yield, fruit quality and fruit size, however, these relationships have yet to be verified for most tropical crop species 5 , 31 , 33 , 34 . This highlights an urgent need to protect multiple metrics of bee populations, including relative abundances.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tropical bee species abundance differs within a narrow elevational gradient

Conrad

Peters

Rehan

2021

Sci Rep

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Insect pollination is among the most essential ecosystem services for humanity. Globally, bees are the most effective pollinators, and tropical bees are also important for maintaining tropical biodiversity. Despite their invaluable pollination service, basic distributional patterns of tropical bees along elevation gradients are globally scarce. Here, we surveyed bees at 100 m elevation intervals from 800 to 1100 m elevation in Costa Rica to test if bee abundance, community composition and crop visitor assemblages differed by elevation. We found that 18 of 24 bee species spanning three tribes that represented the most abundantly collected bee species showed abundance differences by elevation, even within this narrow elevational gradient. Bee assemblages at the two crop species tested, avocado and squash, showed community dissimilarity between high and low elevations, and elevation was a significant factor in explaining bee community composition along the gradient. Stingless bees (Tribe Meliponini) were important visitors to both crop species, but there was a more diverse assemblage of bees visiting avocado compared to squash. Our findings suggest that successful conservation of tropical montane bee communities and pollination services will require knowledge of which elevations support the highest numbers of each species, rather than species full altitudinal ranges.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tropical bee species abundance differs within a narrow elevational gradient

Conrad

Peters

Rehan

2021

Sci Rep

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“…Insects have been identified as the world’s most important pollinators, contributing to 87% of pollination globally, making their services critical for the sustainability of natural ecosystems [ 10 , 11 ]. Camellia oleifera Abel.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What Are the Best Pollinator Candidates for Camellia oleifera: Do Not Forget Hoverflies and Flies

Yuan

Zhang

et al. 2022

Insects

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Camellia oleifera Abel. is an important woody oil plant, and its pollination success is essential for oil production. We conducted this study to select the best pollinator candidates for C. oleifera using principal component analysis and multi-attribute decision-making. Field observations of the flower-visiting characteristics of candidate pollinators were conducted at three sites. The insect species that visited flowers did not considerably differ between regions or time periods. However, the proportion of each species recorded did vary. We recorded eleven main candidates from two orders and six families at the three sites. The pollen amount carried by Apis mellifera was significantly higher than that of other insects. However, the visit frequency and body length of Apis mellifera were smaller than those of Vespa velutina. Statistical analysis showed that A. mellifera is the best candidate pollinator; Eristaliscerealis is a good candidate pollinator; Phytomia zonata, A. cerana, and V. velutina were ordinary candidate pollinators; and four fly species, Episyrphus balteatus, and Eristalinus arvorum were classified as inefficient candidate pollinators. Our study shows that flies and hoverflies play an important role in the pollination system. Given the global decline in bee populations, the role of flies should also be considered in C. oleifera seed production.

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“…2 1:9 = Each third row of 'Hass' has one 'Ettinger' tree for every two 'Hass' trees (11% 'Ettinger', see Figure 2). 3 See Figures 1 and 2.…”

Section: Hive Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Insufficient pollination is a major limiting factor for avocado ( Persea americana Mill.) fertility [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. In Mediterranean regions, and in particular in Israel, the honeybee ( Apis mellifera ; HB) is the main commercial pollinator of avocados.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) Improve ‘Hass’ Avocado (Persea americana) Pollination

Stern

Rozen

Eshed

et al. 2021

Plants

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Pollination is limiting for avocado production. We examined whether adding bumblebees (BBs; ca. 10 hives/ha) to conventional honeybees (HB; 5 hives/ha) would improve ‘Hass’ avocado pollination and yields. A preliminary trial (2017/18) in an avocado orchard with four consecutive rows of ‘Hass’ followed by one row of ‘Ettinger’ serving as a pollenizer (20% ‘Ettinger’) showed a considerable increase in ‘Hass’ yield in rows adjacent to (up to 80 m from) the BB hives vs. distant rows (=controls). In 2018/19, the trials were extended to three additional orchards. A significant yield increase was obtained in the BB hive-adjacent trees compared to BB hive-distant ones. Similar results were obtained in 2019/20, in experiments conducted throughout the country. The SNP analysis, to determine the parents of ‘Hass’ fruit at varying distances from the BB hives, showed no differences in the cross-pollination rate (‘Hass’ × ‘Ettinger’). However, pollination rates and the number of germinating pollen grains per stigma decreased with distance from the hives, and correlated to the negative gradient in yield. Taken together, our data suggest that adding BB hives to ‘Hass’ avocado orchards, at ca. 10 hives/ha resulting in 0.5–1.0 BB visits/tree per min, increases pollination and, accordingly, total yield.

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The role of insect pollinators in avocado production: A global review

Abstract: This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Cited by 45 publications

References 48 publications

Tropical bee species abundance differs within a narrow elevational gradient

Tropical bee species abundance differs within a narrow elevational gradient

What Are the Best Pollinator Candidates for Camellia oleifera: Do Not Forget Hoverflies and Flies

Bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) Improve ‘Hass’ Avocado (Persea americana) Pollination

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