Apple flowers of most varieties require pollinator-mediated
cross-pollination.
However, little is known about the cues used by pollinators to find
the flowers. We used bioassays to investigate the importance of visual
and olfactory cues for the attraction of honeybee pollinators to apple
flowers. Chemical–analytical and electrophysiological approaches
were used to determine floral scents and investigate antennal responses
of honeybees to scents from flowering twigs. Bioassays showed that
visual and olfactory cues were equally important for the attraction
of honeybees to apple flowers. Floral scents were dominated by aromatic
components, mainly benzyl alcohol, and the antennae of honeybees responded
to a large number of components, among them to benzyl alcohol, linalool,
and indole. Our study aims to better understand how this important
fruit crop communicates with its main pollinators. This knowledge
might be used to improve the attractiveness of apple flowers to pollinators
to optimize fruit sets.
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