scholarly journals Pollinator Contribution to the Production of Cowpea in the Amazon

HortScience ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 1157-1159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos G. Vaz ◽  
Domingos de Oliveira ◽  
Orlando S. Ohashi

Cowpea, Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp., is a very important legume in the diet of the population of the Amazon. Although it is autogamous, this species has a cross-pollination rate of ≈10%. Over several years, the mean productivity of cowpea has declined. We suggest that this is linked to a decrease in or an absence of pollinating insects in the fields. The objective of this study is to ascertain the pollinator contribution to cowpea production, as well as to determine the pollination type of the `BR3-Tracuateua' cultivar. In an experimental design, four treatments were compared: no pollination, with flowers in cages to prevent insect visits; open-pollination, with flowers exposed to all visiting insects; self-pollination, with flowers pollinated with their own pollen; and cross-pollination, with emasculated flowers being pollinated manually with pollen from another plant. We observed higher fruit set in the presence of pollinators (83%) than in their absence (77%, caged flowers). However, cross-pollination reduced both the number of seeds per pod and fruit set relative to self-pollination. This result suggests that pollinators have a complementary role in the yield of cowpea, by creating a mixed pollination system where self-pollination dominates.

2012 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewa Szpadzik ◽  
Ewa Jadczuk-Tobjasz ◽  
Barbara Łotocka

Preliminary experiments were carried out in spring 2006. The percentage of fruit set of 'Schattenmorelle IR-2', 'Koral', 'Debreceni Bötermö', 'újfefértói Fürtos' and 'Karneol' was higher after open pollination compared with self-pollination. The cultivar Vowi had an inconsiderably higher percentage of fruit set after self-pollination compared with open pollination. The percentage of fruit set in 'Debreceni Bötermö' and 'újfehértói Fürtos' was about 25 % higher after pollination by 'Schattenmorelle IR-2' and 'Koral' compared with the percentage of fruit set after cross - pollination of both cultivars with each other. In general, they did not appear to be good pollinators with each other. The highest quality of pollen was observed for the following cultivars: 'Schattenmorelle IR-2', 'Koral' and Vowi and the lowest result was obtained in 'újfehértói Fürtos'. The highest yield was given by the following cultivars: Vowi, Schattenmorelle IR-2 and Koral.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 183
Author(s):  
Ni Luh Putu Indriyani ◽  
NFN Hardiyanto

<p>Bunga tanaman buah naga berukuran besar dan merupakan bunga hermaprodit yang mekar pada malam hari. Penyerbukan silang pada buah naga dapat terjadi dengan bantuan angin, serangga polinator maupun manusia. Penelitian bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh teknik penyerbukan bunga betina terhadap pembuahan buah naga (Hylocereus polyrizhus). Penelitian dilakukan di Kebun Percobaan Aripan, Balai Penelitian Tanaman Tropika pada bulan Agustus sampai September 2014. Perlakuan terdiri atas: (A) penyerbukan secara alami (kontrol), (B) penyerbukan sendiri melalui isolasi bunga dengan kantong kertas minyak, (C) penyerbukan dengan mengisolasi bunga menggunakan kantong kertas minyak saat mekar pada malam hari dibantu dengan memberikan serbuk sari dari bunganya sendiri dan diisolasi kembali, dan (D) penyerbukan bunga yang didahului dengan kastrasi dan isolasi menggunakan kantong kertas minyak serta polinasi pada malam hari dan selanjutnya bunga diisolasi kembali. Setiap perlakuan terdiri atas 37 bunga tanaman buah naga. Analisis data dilakukan menggunakan uji t berpasangan pada taraf 0,05. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa teknik penyerbukan yang berbeda pada tanaman buah naga menghasilkan kelas buah yang berbeda. Persentase buah dengan kelas super tertinggi diperoleh pada penyerbukan secara alami (kontrol), meskipun persentase jadi buah paling kecil. Implikasi dari hasil penelitian ini adalah bahwa penyerbukan pada buah naga sebaiknya dilakukan secara alami tanpa menggunakan bantuan manusia.</p><p><strong>Keywords</strong></p><p>Buah naga; Penyerbukan; Pembuahan; <em>Self compatible</em></p><p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p>The flower size of dragon fruit plants is large and a hermaphroditic nocturnal flowers. Cross pollination of the dragon fruit plants occurs because of the wind, pollinator, and humans. The aim of the research was to determine the effect of pollination technique on  fertilization of dragon fruit flowers (Hylocereus polyrizhus). This research was conducted at Aripan Experimental Field, Indonesian Tropical Fruit Research Institute (ITFRI) from August to September 2014. The treatments consisted of: (A) natural open pollination (control), (B) the flowers were isolated with paper bags and allowed to self pollination, (C) the flowers were isolated with paper bag and hand self pollinated when flowers were blooming in the evening. Furthermore all pollinated flowers were isolated with paper bag again (hand self pollination), and (D) the flowers were castrated and emasculated then they were isolated with paper bag. Cross pollination was done with pollen from the other plants. The all pollinated flowers were isolated with paper bag again (hand cross pollination). Each treatment consisted of 37 flowers of dragon fruit plants. Data were analyzed by using paired  t test 0.05. The results showed that different of pollination techniques on dragon fruit plants were produced of different fruit grade. Percentage of superior grade on natural open pollination  higher than the other treatment, even though the open pollination had smallest of percentage of  fruit set. The implication of this research is that the dragon fruit flower pollination may be done naturally without human assistance.</p>


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Spinardi ◽  
D. Bassi

Self-compatibility of local olive (Olea europaeaL.) accessions and of the cultivars “Frantoio” and “Leccino” was investigated in Garda Lake area, northern Italy. Intercompatibility was determined for “Casaliva,” “Frantoio,” and “Leccino,” as well as the effects of foliar Boron applications (0, 262, 525, or 1050 mg·L−1) applied about one week before anthesis on fruit set, shotberry set, and onin vitropollen germination. Following self-pollination, fruit set was significantly lower and the occurrence of shot berries significantly higher than those obtained by open pollination. No significant effect of controlled cross-pollination over self-pollination on fruit set and shotberry set was detectable. B treatments increased significantly fruit set in “Frantoio” and “Casaliva” but not in “Leccino.” B sprays had no effect on shotberry set, suggesting that these parthenocarpic fruits did not strongly compete for resources allocation and did not take advantage of increased B tissue levels. Foliar B application enhancedin vitropollen germination, and the optimal level was higher for pollen germination than for fruit set. Our results highlight the importance of olive cross pollination for obtaining satisfactory fruit set and the beneficial effect of B treatments immediately prior to anthesis, possibly by affecting positively the fertilisation process and subsequent plant source-sink relations linked to fruitlet retention.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 258-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Sánchez-Estrada ◽  
Julián Cuevas

In countries new to producing ‘Manzanillo’ olive trees (Olea europaea), free cross-pollination is often insufficient to obtain high levels of fruit set. An appropriate pollination design is therefore essential to ensure a timely, abundant, and compatible pollen supply. With a view to determining whether a pollination deficit exists in a nontraditional olive area such as the northern Mexico, pollination experiments were carried out in two consecutive seasons in both a monovarietal and a multivarietal Manzanillo orchard, where Sevillano, Barouni, Picual, Pendolino, Mission, Nevadillo, and Frantoio trees were growing nearby. The pollination treatments were self-, open, and cross-pollination with ‘Barouni’ and ‘Sevillano’ pollen, the latter only in the multivarietal orchard. The results confirmed the full self-incompatible condition of ‘Manzanillo’. Open-pollination did not improve fruit set in the monovarietal orchard, but it did so significantly in the multivarietal plot, where fruit set levels under open-pollination matched those of cross-pollination. Lower pollen adhesion, as well as occasional decreased germination, and reduced and delayed pollen tube growth were observed under self-pollination, highlighting self-incompatibility reactions. The reduction in fertilization rates led to low fruit set under self-pollination. Positive effects of open- and cross-pollination treatments were also noted on fruit weight (despite higher crop loads) and pulp-to-pit ratios. A strategic plantation design, including appropriate pollinizers in the right number and position, is therefore suggested for increasing ‘Manzanillo’ fruit quality and yield in Mexico. Both ‘Barouni’ and ‘Sevillano’ served as efficient pollinizers for ‘Manzanillo’, although we recommend ‘Barouni’ as a more efficient because the bloom periods of them matched that of ‘Manzanillo’


1999 ◽  
Vol 5 (1-2) ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Szabó ◽  
J. Nyéki ◽  
M. Soltész ◽  
Z. Szabó ◽  
T. Tóth

Literature dealing with flowering and fertilisation of quince is scarce. Most controversial and scanty are informations on observations of self- and cross-pollination. According to our observations, differences in blooming time are few (2-3) days only, thus flowering of most varieties is synchronous. The varieties observed are grouped as early, intermediate and late flowering ones. Self fertility of the individual varieties, however, was not assessed unequivocally, therefore it is recommended, by safety reasons, to consider quince actually as a whole to be auto-incompatible. Artificial self-pollination (or rather geitonogamy) as well as cross pollination with other varieties increased substantially fruit set if compared with the results of natural self-pollination (autogamy). According to the fruit set of their open pollinated flowers, varieties have been classified according to fertility as low (below 10 %), medium (between 10 and 20 %) and high (more than 20 %). Cross fertility of varieties is highly variable depending on combination and on season. Contradictory data are probably due to the sensitivity of quince to conditions of search. Better fruit set was coincident with higher number of stout seeds per fruit. Well developed seeds are definitely a prerequisite of larger fruit size.  


1990 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 63 ◽  
Author(s):  
RL Goldingay ◽  
RJ Whelan

Three factors that potentially influence fruit set (breeding system, inadequate cross-pollination and variable floral display) were examined for two species of Banksia. Firstly, self-pollination and autogamy treatments failed to produce any fruit in B. spinulosa and produced very few fruit in B. paludosa. This suggests that cross pollen is required to produce the level of fruit set observed in the field. Secondly, when plants were given abundant cross pollen, fruit set was not altered in B. spinulosa but was in B. paludosa. Although the number of follicles per inflorescence was was not different for open- pollinated (control) and manipulated B. paludosa inflorescences, the latter produced twice the proportion of inflorescences with follicles produced by control plants and twice the total number of follicles per plant. Thirdly, larger floral display in open-pollinated B. spinulosa plants was associated with a greater production of fruit. However, larger floral display was not associated with a greater reproductive output in B. paludosa, and we suggest that recurrent pollen-limitation in this species may be responsible for this result.


1994 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Weiss ◽  
A. Nerd ◽  
Y. Mizrahi

The flowering and pollination requirements of Cereus peruvianus (L) Mill. (Cactaceae) were investigated in Beer Sheva, Israel, in a three-year-old plantation which had been established from seedlings, in order to domesticate this plant as a fruit crop. Plants flowered during the hot season (May-October), and flowers opened for one night only. Variations were observed in the flowers' opening time, with the early-opening plants beginning to open two hours before sunset, and the late-opening plants opening close to sunset. Flowers were visited only by day-active insects: the honey bee (Apis mellifera) and the carpenter bee (Xylocopa pubescens). The visitors' behavior indicated that they were involved in pollination. Early-opening flowers were visited both in the evening and in the morning, whereas late-openers were visited only in the morning. C. peruvianus was found to be self-incompatible, and fruit set did not occur when flowers were hand self-pollinated. Hand cross-pollination resulted in very high fruit set (92%) and heavy fruits with a high seed number. Fruit set, seed number, and fruit weight were lower in open-pollination than in hand cross-pollination. This indicates limited pollination or fertilization in open- pollination and might be related to the briefness of the bee visits, reduced pollen germinability, and stigma receptivity during part of the visit period.


PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e10473
Author(s):  
Mark Otieno ◽  
Neelendra Joshi ◽  
Benjamin Rutschmann

Background The African violets are endangered plant species restricted mainly to the Eastern Arc Mountains biodiversity hotspots in Kenya and Tanzania. These plants grow well in shaded environments with high humidity. Given their restricted geographical range and published evidence of dependance on insect vectors to facilitate sexual reproduction, understanding their pollination biology is vital for their survival. Methods We conducted an empirical study using flower visitor observations, pan trapping and bagging experiments to establish the role of flower visitors in the fruit set of a locally endemic and critically endangered species of African violet in Taita Hills, Kenya, Streptocarpus teitensis. Results The study found that fruit set is increased by 47.8% in S. teitensis when flowers are visited by insects. However, it is important to note the presence of putative autogamy suggesting S. teitensis could have a mixed breeding system involving self-pollination and cross-pollination since bagged flowers produced 26.9% fruit set. Conclusions Insects appear to be essential flower visitors necessary for increased fruit set in S. teitensis. However, there is evidence of a mixed breeding system involving putative self-pollination and cross-pollination suggesting that S. teitensis is somewhat shielded from the negative effects of pollinator losses. Consequently, S. teitensis appears to be protected to a degree from the risks such as reproduction failure associated with pollinator losses by the presence of a safety net in putative self-pollination.


HortScience ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Vuletin Selak ◽  
Slavko Perica ◽  
Smiljana Goreta Ban ◽  
Mira Radunic ◽  
Milan Poljak

Olive orchard productivity largely depends on the choice of planted cultivars and their pollination needs. Orchard designs in Croatia are changing because a number of valuable foreign olive cultivars, mostly Italian, have been introduced in this region in the last 30 years. The compatibility relationships of introduced cultivars with autochthonous cultivars are unknown. With the objective of studying reproductive behavior of the most important Croatian cultivars (Drobnica, Lastovka, Levantinka, and Oblica) and their cross-pollination to recently introduced Italian cultivars Leccino and Pendolino, initial and final fruit set in self-pollination versus cross-pollination and free pollination were compared during three flowering seasons. Experiments were conducted in three different orchards (Kastela, Mravince, and Brac) to identify the effect of the environment on reproductive behavior of olive cultivars. The differences of fruit set in five olive cultivars after tested pollination treatments appeared at the time of initial fruit set. Increased final fruit set under cross-pollinations was observed when compared with self-pollination for all olive cultivars in all experimental orchards. In the Mravince orchard, a positive response to cross-pollination was consistent, and fruit set increased under cross-pollination in all cultivars and years with the exception of ‘Levantinka’ in which no significant differences were noticed between self-pollination treatment and cross-pollination treatments in 2005. Variable self-fertility behavior from season to season was found for tested cultivars. A self-incompatibility index (ISI) higher than 0.1 was recorded for ‘Levantinka’ in all experimental years and, therefore, classified it as a partially self-incompatible cultivar. Self-incompatibility response was observed for ‘Lastovka’. The positive response to cross-pollination over self-pollination only in some experimental years classified ‘Drobnica’, ‘Leccino’, and ‘Oblica’ as partially self-incompatible. Results obtained from this study indicated that pollination efficiency is strictly combination-specific. The Italian cultivar, Leccino, was a successful pollen acceptor and pollenizer of most Croatian cultivars. Reciprocal high success in cross-pollination was recorded for ‘Levantinka’ and ‘Oblica’. In the Mravince orchard, ‘Lastovka’, ‘Leccino’, and ‘Oblica’ were efficient pollenizers of ‘Levantinka’ where the simultaneous flowering period was in accordance with their cross-compatibility. ‘Levantinka’ was a good pollenizer for ‘Lastovka’ in the Mravince orchard, and both cultivars entered into the flowering period earlier than other studied cultivars, which was not the case in the other two orchards. The variations in flowering timing among orchards were a consequence of differences in environmental conditions. According to the high fruit sets recorded in ‘Oblica’ after pollination with ‘Leccino’ or ‘Levantinka’, an increase in tree productivity of the acceptor cultivar is expected in the presence of selected pollenizers in all olive-growing regions.


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