Bjørn Arild Hatteland
Research Scientist
(+47) 404 79 306
bjorn.hatteland@nibio.no
Place
Bergen
Visiting address
Thormøhlensgate 55, 5006 Bergen
Authors
Linn Vassvik Anders Nielsen Michael Garratt Bjørn Arild Hatteland Joseph Chipperfield Jørund Johansen Silje Maria Midthjell Høydal Erik Trond AschehougAbstract
Insect pollinators are important drivers of fruit quality and yield in horticultural systems. The global reduction in wild bee populations has increased the demand for managed honeybees, despite honeybees relatively low pollination efficiency. Here, we assessed how bee communities, bee behaviour, and orchard design in Norwegian apple orchards affects apple pollination success, an important determinant of apple quality. We placed pan and vane traps in 18 apple orchards, in six distinct locations, within the two main apple growing regions in Norway. We also tracked individual bees (honeybees, bumblebees, and solitary bees) throughout the apple flowering season, and recorded their flower handling time, number of flower visits, stigma contact, and movement between apple flowers. Finally, we calculated the seed set rate (ovules developed into seeds / total number of ovules) from 908 harvested apples to estimate pollination success. Our key finding is that pollination success was driven by the abundance of wild bees and overall orchard planting design. We found lower pollination success in block design orchards where a single cultivar is planted continuously over a large area, compared to orchards with an integrated design where compatible cultivars are planted within the orchard. We also found that stigma contact decreased as apple flowering progressed, and that solitary bees visited fewer flowers per foraging event but were potentially more thorough foragers. Our results highlight the importance of promoting wild bees in apple orchards while also ensuring there is compatible pollen in the orchards for optimal pollination.
Authors
Maxime Eeraerts Julia Osterman Péter Batáry Alexandra Maria Klein Matthias Albrecht Georg K.S. Andersson András Báldi Olivia M. Bernauer Leah Blechschmidt Eleanor J. Blitzer Paulo A.V. Borges Jordi Bosch Katherine L.W. Burns Alistair J. Campbell Sílvia Castro James M. Cook Robin Daelemans Bryan N. Danforth Arjen G. de Groot Kinley Dorji Rita Földesi Hannah R. Gaines Day Daniel García Lucas A. Garibaldi Michael P.D. Garratt Andrew Gonzalez Heather Grab Claudio Gratton Maren Kristine Koffeld Halvorsen Peter A. Hambäck Bjørn Arild Hatteland Olivier Honnay Eva Hulsmans Sandra Kaasen Vestheim David Kleijn Anikó Kovács-Hostyánszki Martin J. Lechowicz Nicolas Leclercq Yunhui Liu João Loureiro Rachel E. Mallinger Leon Marshall Ivan Meeus Marcos Miñarro Diego N. Nabaes Jodar Adara Pardo Mia G. Park Robert J. Paxton Néstor Pérez-Méndez Rafael A. Pincante De Carvalho Paavo Pirttilehto Matti Pisman Simon G. Potts Nigel E. Raine James R. Reilly Laura Roquer-Beni Ulrika Samnegård Dara A. Stanley Louis Sutter Kyle Teixeira-Martins Simon M. Tierney Ruan Veldtman Nicolas J. Vereecken Felix Wäckers Timothy Weekers Julianna K. Wilson Panlong Wu Kris VerheyenAbstract
1. Apple is one of the most important pollinator-dependent fruit crops worldwide. To secure high-quality yields, it is crucial to know which, and to what extent, pollinating insects contribute to its pollination success as measured by fruit set, fruit weight and seed set. 2. We perform a meta-analysis of field studies conducted across multiple orchards on insect-mediated pollination in apple cultivation, using raw data from 29 studies, totalling 532 orchard replicates. We assessed the extent of pollen limitation on different pollination outcomes and assessed the contribution of honeybees, wild bees and bee species richness to apple pollination. 3. Across all studies, we detected strong evidence of pollen limitation for fruit set and seed set, but not for fruit weight. Honeybees were the most abundant flower visitors (average relative visitation of 71.9%) compared to wild bees; but when correcting for their pollination efficiency, the relative pollination contribution of honeybees was lower compared to their relative visitation (vice versa for solitary bees). 4. We conclude that honeybee visitation rate did not influence fruit or seed set; yet increasing honeybee visitation had a small, negative effect on fruit weight. Fruit set was not influenced by wild bee visitation rate, whereas wild bee visitation had a small, but clear positive effect on fruit weight and seed set. Bee species richness had a small, positive effect on seed set; whereas it did not affect fruit set and fruit weight. 5. Syntheses and applications. Our study highlights that pollen limitation is common in this global crop. While managed honeybees are dominant pollinators, a diverse community of wild bees contributes significantly to apple pollination and high-quality yield. The positive effect of wild bees and species richness on fruit weight and seed set demonstrates that wild bee pollination results in better-quality fruit production (increased weight & seed set). Therefore, our synthesis highlights the importance of conserving pollinator diversity to maintain pollination services. The absence of a clear effect of honeybee visitation rate on fruit and seed set, coupled with its negative impact on fruit weight, suggests a need for further optimisation of honeybee management to improve the cost-efficiency of pollination management.
Abstract
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Division of Food Production and Society
The role of diversified small-scale horticulture in a transition towards more sustainable food systems with healthier diets (SmallHort)
The aim of the project is to explore how food systems based on diversified small-scale horticulture can be developed to become more economically, socially and environmentally sustainable while also increasing in scale. This will provide benefits to nature, environment and public health.
Division of Biotechnology and Plant Health
IPM-fruit: IPM strategies for future fruit production
IPM fruit will investigate how preventive and alternative control measures can be used for sustainable fruit production. The project will study how natural enemies, physical control, and biologicals as well as combinations of these can be best applied under Norwegian conditions. The project will be carried out in collaboration with the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), the Norwegian advisory service (NLR), NIAB East Malling (UK), IRTA (Sapin), and also in close collaboration with fruit growers.