Prickly pear crops as bee diversity reservoirs and the role of bees in Opuntia fruit production

Female flowers of some dioecious species are known to develop stamens with sterile pollen, a sexual system known as cryptic dioecy. A convincing hypothesis explaining this phenomenon is that stamens in female flowers attract pollinators and so ensure seed production. However, because this hypothesis has rarely been tested experimentally, we tested it in a cryptically dioecious species, Actinidia polygama (Sieb. et Zucc.) Planch. ex Maxim. Our findings show that pollinators do not show a consistent preference based on the sex of the flowers, and that the removal of stamens from female flowers results in a significant reduction in the frequency of insect visits and fruit production. These results strongly support the pollinator attraction hypothesis in A. polygama. Given the evident role of stamens in female flowers in A. polygama reproduction, we discuss why cryptic dioecy is a rare phenomenon.Key words: Actinidia polygama, cryptic dioecy, pseudopollen, pollinator attraction, unisexual flowers.

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New Tools for Conservation Biological Control: Testing Ant-Attracting Artificial Nectaries to Employ Ants as Plant Defenders

Insects ◽

10.3390/insects11020129 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 129

Author(s):

Enrico Schifani ◽

Cristina Castracani ◽

Daniele Giannetti ◽

Fiorenza Augusta Spotti ◽

Roberto Reggiani ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Biological Control ◽

Cydia Pomonella ◽

Crop Protection ◽

Codling Moth ◽

Conservation Biological Control ◽

Fruit Production ◽

Pear Fruit ◽

Pear Trees ◽

Venturia Pyrina

Knowledge of the role of ants in many agroecosystems is relatively scarce, and in temperate regions the possibility to exploit ants as biocontrol agents for crop protection is still largely unexplored. Drawing inspiration from mutualistic ant–plant relationships mediated by extrafloral nectaries (EFNs), we tested the use of artificial nectaries (ANs) in order to increase ant activity on pear trees and to evaluate the effects on the arthropods, plant health and fruit production. While EFNs secrete a complex solution mainly composed of sugars and amino acids, ANs were filled with water and sucrose only. The results suggest that ANs can be used as manipulative instruments to increase ant activity over long periods of time. High ant activity was significantly linked to lower incidence of the pathogen fungus Venturia pyrina (pear scab) on pear leaves, and of the presence of Cydia pomonella (codling moth) caterpillars on pear fruit production. These results further encourage exploring underrated possibilities in the development of new tools for conservation biological control (CBC).

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Contribution of cell wall modifying enzymes on the texture of fleshy fruits: The example of apple

Journal of the Serbian Chemical Society ◽

10.2298/jsc121123004b ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 78 (3) ◽

pp. 417-427 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Estelle Bonnin ◽

Marc Lahaye

Keyword(s):

Cell Wall ◽

Fruit Ripening ◽

Consumer Choice ◽

Fruit Production ◽

Cell Wall Polysaccharides ◽

Structural Reorganization ◽

Fleshy Fruits ◽

Textural Changes ◽

Transformation Processes

Cell walls consist of polysaccharide assemblies (pectin, hemicelluloses and cellulose), whose structure and interactions vary depending on fruit genetic, and its stage and conditions of development. The establishment and the structural reorganization of the assemblies result from enzyme/protein consortia acting in muro. The texture of fleshy fruits is one of the major criteria for consumer choice. It impacts also post-harvest routes and transformation processes. Disassembly of fruit cell wall polysaccharides largely induces textural changes during ripening but the precise role of each polysaccharide and each enzyme remains unclear. The changes of cell wall polysaccharides during fruit ripening have mainly emphasized a modulation of the fine chemical structure of pectins by hydrolases, lyases, and esterases. This restructuring also involves a reorganization of hemicelluloses by hydrolases/transglycosydases and a modulation of their interactions with the cellulose by non-catalytic proteins such as expansin. Apple is the third fruit production in the world and is the subject of studies about fruit quality. This paper presents some of the results to date about the enzymes/proteins involved in this fruit ripening with a particular emphasis on apple.

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Role of Leaf Litter on the Incorporation of Copper-Containing Pesticides into Soils Under Fruit Production: a Review

Journal of soil science and plant nutrition ◽

10.1007/s42729-020-00186-1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

pp. 990-1000 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

J. Tomás Schoffer ◽

Sébastien Sauvé ◽

Alexander Neaman ◽

Rosanna Ginocchio

Keyword(s):

Leaf Litter ◽

Fruit Production

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THE ROLE OF POLLINATING INSECTS IN ENSURING FOOD SECURITY IN POLAND

Annals of the Polish Association of Agricultural and Agribusiness Economists ◽

10.5604/01.3001.0010.3244 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol XIX (3) ◽

pp. 182-187

Author(s):

Janusz Majewski

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Crop Production ◽

Fruit Production ◽

Yield Reduction ◽

Insect Pollinators ◽

Central Statistical ◽

Pollinating Insects ◽

Central Statistical Office ◽

The Subject

The aim of the paper was to determinate the importance of pollinating insects for food security in Poland. To assess this, there was estimated crop production without pollinators. The information published by the Institute of Horticulture and the Central Statistical Office was used as well as the literature on the subject. The results of the study indicate that insect pollinators play a key role in fruit production, absence of pollinators may result in a crop yield reduction about 80%. In terms of physical availability of food, Polish food security will be preserved even in the absence of insect pollinators. However, at the level of economic availability, food security may not be preserved without such pollinators, in particular in terms of fruit and food security associated with the consumption of properly balanced rations.

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Enhances production of coffee (Coffea robusta): The role of pollinator, forages potency, and honey production from Tetragonula sp. (Meliponinae) in Central Lombok, Indonesia

Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity ◽

10.13057/biodiv/d221062 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 22 (10) ◽

Author(s):

Bambang Supeno ◽

Erwan Erwan ◽

Agussalim Agussalim

Keyword(s):

Apis Cerana ◽

Fruit Production ◽

Observation Time ◽

Fruit Tree ◽

Coffee Production ◽

Nectar Production ◽

Honey Production ◽

Coffea Robusta ◽

Nectar Content

Abstract. Supeno B, Erwan, Agussalim. 2021. Enhances production of coffee (Coffea robusta): The role of pollinator, forages potency, and honey production from Tetragonula sp. (Meliponinae) in Central Lombok, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 22: 4687-4693. The bees role as an agent of pollinators to improve the productivity of plants. This study was purposed to enhance coffee production (Coffea robusta) by roles of stingless bee Tetragonula sp. as pollinator agent, forages potency, and honey production. This study has been conducted in a coffee plantation in Lantan, Central Lombok, Indonesia. Several parameters were measured such as the number of bunches and flowers, production of nectar and pollen, sucrose nectar content, production of coffee, production of honey, honey stomach volume, and pollen weight. The results showed that the different observation time influenced the number of bunches, flowers, production of nectar and pollen, sucrose nectar content (P<0.01). The number of bunches ranged from 58.2 to 144.9 bunches/tree, the number of flowers 36.3 to 58.7 flowers/bunches, and 2,362.5 to 8.250.6 flowers/tree. Furthermore, the nectar production 9.16 to 33.85 g/tree, pollen production 1.72 to 5.95 g/tree, sucrose nectar content 20.6 to 35.0%. Estimation of coffee production before pollinated by Tetragonula sp. was 1,230.8 kg/ha, but after pollination by Tetragonula was increased it became 3,605.7 kg/ha (49.1%). Fruit production before pollinated by Tetragonula sp. was 2,127.2 fruit/tree, but after pollination by Tetragonula sp. increased to 8,309.2 fruit/tree (59.2%). Production of honey from Tetragonula sp. was 3.74 g/hive/5 months and in Apis cerana was 301.35 g/hive/5 months. It can be concluded that the Tetragonula sp. as an agent of pollinators can enhance the production of coffee and increase the biodiversity of coffee.

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Biomass and Fruit Production for the Prickly Pear Cactus, Opuntia ficus-indica

Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science ◽

10.21273/jashs.117.4.558 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 117 (4) ◽

pp. 558-562 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

Victor Garcia de Cortázar ◽

Park S. Nobel

Keyword(s):

Surface Area ◽

Dry Weight ◽

Fruit Production ◽

Prickly Pear ◽

Opuntia Ficus Indica ◽

Central Chile ◽

Shoot Dry Weight ◽

Prickly Pear Cactus ◽

Fruit Productivity ◽

Pear Cactus

Productivity of irrigated prickly pear cactus [Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Miller] was studied over 3 years in central Chile using two planting densities. A low-density planting (0.25 plants/m2), traditionally favored for fruit production, had maximal fruit productivity in the 2nd year (6 Mg dry weight/ha per year). A high-density planting (24 plants/m2), which assured almost full interception of incident solar radiation, led to an extremely high shoot dry-weight productivity (50 Mg·ha-1·year-1) in the 2nd year and maximal fruit productivity (6 Mg·ha-1·year-1) in the 3rd year. Cladode dry weight tended to increase with cladode surface area. However, fruit production did not occur until the dry weight per cladode exceeded the minimum dry weight for a particular cladode surface area by at least 33 g. The year-to-year variation in fruit production apparently reflected variations in such excess dry weight and, hence, in the storage reserves of individual cladodes.

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