Bee abundance and soil nitrogen availability interactively modulate apple quality and quantity in intensive agricultural landscapes of China

Wu, Panlong; Tscharntke, Teja; Westphal, Catrin; Wang, Meina; Olhnuud, Aruhan; Xu, Huiling; Yu, Zhenrong; Werf, Wopke Van der; Liu, Yunhui

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2020.107168

Cited by 14 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 72 publications

(93 reference statements)

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“…When seed number was maximum, apples had in average 5% of asymmetrical scanned surface, whereas under low pollination, the non-symmetrical area was about the double. This result aligns with previous studies that have identified a positive effect of seed number and seed distribution in apple symmetry for 'McIntosh', 'Cortland' (Sheffield, 2014) and 'Fuji' (Wu et al, 2021), although the effects detected by the two studies were slight. In addition, our result differs from a previous report of lack of pollination effect on 'Gala' symmetry (Carisio et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Despite this complexity, several studies pointed out a positive effect of pollination on apple weight (Buccheri and Vaio, 2006;Webber et al, 2020) and on apple appearance (Buccheri and Vaio, 2006;Garratt et al, 2014). The majority of the studies focusing on the pollination effect on apple appearance have explored the differences between deformed and regular fruits (Buccheri and Vaio, 2006;Elsysy et al, 2019;Herrmann et al, 2019;Matsumoto et al, 2012;Wu et al, 2021), whereas quantitative measures to assess the regularity of fruit shapes have been rarely adopted (Carisio et al, 2020;Sheffield, 2014). In these last cases, fruit shape measurements were oversimplified (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influence of seed set on apple symmetry assessed by image analysis: an overlooked effect of pollination on fruit shape.

et al. 2021

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The role of pollination ecosystem service on crop yield and some quality parameters have been largely studied. Nevertheless, the effect of pollination on fruit appearance is still a poorly explored field and it has been assessed by means of oversimplified measurements. Here, we developed an image analysis tool to test the hypothesis that pollination greatly affects the symmetry of one of the most consumed fruit worldwide: the apple. The hypothesis was tested for three commercial classes separately, to understand whether the pollination effect was consistent among classes. We also compared the performance of the image analysis tool with a simplified symmetry measurement that has been previously used. Finally, the effect of pollination on apple symmetry was compared with the effect on weight. We quantified the amount of non-symmetrical area of harvested Gala cultivar apples using two-dimension images of fruits sectioned along the longitudinal plane. We showed that increasing pollination led to significant increase of apple symmetry. The image analysis tool resulted more precise to assess the pollination effect on fruit symmetry than the previously used symmetry measurement, leading to the conclusion that pollination effect on apple shape has been probably overlooked because of the use of oversimplified symmetry measures. The effect of pollination on apple symmetry was not consistent among commercial classes since it resulted significant for little and medium size apples but unimportant for large size apples. Differently from the symmetry, apple weight appeared as not influenced by the pollination. Our findings suggest that the effect of pollination on fruit production should be assessed taking into account different variables and different commercial classes of apple.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of seed set on apple symmetry assessed by image analysis: an overlooked effect of pollination on fruit shape.

et al. 2021

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“…Zhou et al (2015) found that the content of vitamin C and soluble sugar in apples improved with the increase of nitrogen application rate under moderate deficit irrigation, and the content of titratable acid dropped with the increase of irrigation under the equivalent nitrogen application level; compared with the treatment of the topmost yield, the yield of moderate deficit irrigation under medium nitrogen treatment was not appreciably lessened, but the water use effectiveness was considerably increased. In the past, many studies were done on the outcomes of irrigation or nitrogen applications on the yield of apples and their quality ( Raffo et al, 2014 ; Wang Y. J. et al, 2019 ; Zhong et al, 2019 ; Lecaros-Arellano et al, 2021 ; Wu et al, 2021 ), but the majority of them focused on just one factor. However, it is unclear whether the correct water nitrogen coupling technology can ensure the quality and yield of mountain apples in the Loess Plateau, and this warrants additional study.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comprehensive Evaluation on the Yield, Quality, and Water-Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Mountain Apple Under Surge-Root Irrigation in the Loess Plateau Based on the Improved TOPSIS Method

et al. 2022

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The purpose of this study was to know the controlling effects of water and nitrogen coupling on the yield, quality, and water-nitrogen utilization effectiveness of mountain apples under surge-root irrigation in the Loess Plateau. In order to optimize the water and nitrogen irrigation systems of superior quality and high yield, 7 years was selected for the mountain apple test material. The trial was designed with four tiers of irrigation, i.e., full irrigation (FI: 85–100% θf, where θf is the field capacity), light deficit irrigation (DIL: 70–85% θf), moderate deficit irrigation (DIM: 55–70% θf), and severe deficit irrigation (DIS: 40–55% θf) and three tiers of nitrogen, i.e., high nitrogen (NH: 600 kg ha–1), medium nitrogen (NM: 400 kg ha–1), and low nitrogen (NL: 200 kg ha–1). The subjective weight attained by the analytic hierarchy methods and the objective weight achieved by the enhanced coefficient of variation method were examined to find the comprehensive weight based on the notion of game hypothesis. Then, the weighted technique for order of preference by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS) process was utilized to comprehensively assess the yield, quality, and water-nitrogen use efficiency of the apples, and a binary quadratic regression model was created between the comprehensive evaluation index and water-nitrogen inputs. The results showed that the effects of irrigation and nitrogen levels on the fruit yield, irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE), total water use efficiency (TWUE), nitrogen partial factor productivity (NPFP), and quality of mountain apples were significant (P < 0.05). The apple yield and TWUE first improved and then diminished with an escalating quantity of water-nitrogen inputs, the IWUE diminished with a boost in the irrigation quantity, the NPFP dwindled when the nitrogen amount was increased. The best water and nitrogen inputs for apple yield, quality, or water-nitrogen use efficiency were dissimilar. The best comprehensive evaluation index was DILNM treatment, and the worst comprehensive evaluation index was DISNL treatment, based on the TOPSIS system. The interval of irrigation and nitrogen attained from the mathematic model ranged in 95–115 mm and 470–575 kg ha–1, respectively. The outcome of this study may perhaps offer a theoretical basis for the scientific research of surge-root irrigation and the managing of mountain apple tree irrigation and fertilization in the Loess Plateau, China.

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“…Apple is cultivated worldwide, half of which is produced in China (United States Department of Agriculture [USDA], 2019). However, it has been reported that apple is experiencing global pollination deficits due to insufficient pollinators (Garratt et al, 2014;Pardo and Borges, 2020;Wu et al, 2021). Previous research (Pardo and Borges, 2020) and our preliminary investigations have shown that bees are the main pollinators of apple.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 67%

“…Furthermore, the evidence for landscape structure affecting wild bee diversity is mainly derived from Europe and North America, which are characterized by large field sizes (Steward et al, 2014). Our understanding of the relationship between landscape variables and bee diversity in smallholder agricultural landscapes has remained very limited (Zou et al, 2017;Wu et al, 2021), but it is urgent to consider this scenario because approximately 2.5 billion people depend on smallholder agriculture for survival worldwide (IFAD and UNEP, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving Habitat Quality at the Local and Landscape Scales Increases Wild Bee Assemblages and Associated Pollination Services in Apple Orchards in China

Piaopiao

Wang

et al. 2021

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Bees provide key pollination services for a wide range of crops. Accumulating evidence shows the effect of semi-natural habitats at the landscape level and local management practices on bee diversity in fields. However, most of the evidence is derived from studies in North America and Europe. Whether this paradigm is applicable in China, which is characterized by smallholder-dominated agricultural landscapes, has rarely been studied. In this study, we aimed to investigate how bee diversity affected apple production, and how landscape and local variables affected bee diversity and species composition on the Northern China Plain. The results showed that bees significantly increased apple fruit set compared to bagged controls. Wild bee diversity was positively related to apple seed numbers. Higher seed numbers reduced the proportion of deformed apples and thus increased fruit quality. Wild bee abundance was positively correlated with flowering ground cover, and both the abundance and species richness of wild bees were positively affected by the percentage of semi-natural habitats. We conclude that apple quality can benefit from ecological intensification comprising the augmentation of wild bees by semi-natural habitats and flowering ground cover. Future pollination management should therefore reduce the intensification level of management at both the local and landscape scales.

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Bee abundance and soil nitrogen availability interactively modulate apple quality and quantity in intensive agricultural landscapes of China

Cited by 14 publications

References 72 publications

Influence of seed set on apple symmetry assessed by image analysis: an overlooked effect of pollination on fruit shape.

Influence of seed set on apple symmetry assessed by image analysis: an overlooked effect of pollination on fruit shape.

Comprehensive Evaluation on the Yield, Quality, and Water-Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Mountain Apple Under Surge-Root Irrigation in the Loess Plateau Based on the Improved TOPSIS Method

Improving Habitat Quality at the Local and Landscape Scales Increases Wild Bee Assemblages and Associated Pollination Services in Apple Orchards in China

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