Native bees pollinate tomato flowers and increase fruit production

Franceschinelli, Edivani Villaron; Neto, Carlos Melo Silva; Lima, Flaviana Gomes; Gonçalves, Bruno Bastos; Bergamini, Leonardo Lima; Bergamini, Bárbara Araújo Ribeiro; Elias, Marcos A. S.

doi:10.26786/1920-7603(2013)4

Cited by 34 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Research on tomato pollination in Brazil has clearly recognized the opportunity to capitalize on wild assemblages of native bees ( Franceschinelli et al 2013 , Vinícius-Silva et al 2017 , Roubik 2018 ). Looking beyond bumblebees, Silva-Neto et al (2019) investigated the potential of the native buzz-pollinating stingless bee M. quadrifasciata Le Peletier (Hymenoptera: Apidae) for greenhouse tomato pollination in Brazil.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A potential solution to this problem might be to capitalize on South America’s rich bee fauna, which includes many buzz pollinators. Field tomato crops which are accessible to native pollinating bees have a significantly greater yield and quality of fruit than those which exclude a varied range of native pollinators ( Franceschinelli et al 2013 , Deprá et al 2014 , Santos et al 2014 , Vinícius-Silva et al 2017 , Roubik 2018 ). Again, these studies highlight the importance of maintaining and capitalizing upon a diverse portfolio of pollinators even in the case of a relatively specialized buzz-pollination system.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, our study joins others emphasizing the importance of pollinator diversity rather than abundance in improving the yield and quality of crops ( Klein et al 2003 , Hoehn et al 2008 , Albrecht et al 2012 , Winfree et al 2018 ). In areas with a rich pollinator diversity, the best and most practical pollinators may be the native assemblages readily available, and efforts should be made to protect and promote them ( Macias-Macias et al 2009 , Franceschinelli et al 2013 ). Evidence from studies in tomatoes ( Kasina 2007 , Macias-Macias et al 2009 , Franceschinelli et al 2013 , Vinícius-Silva et al 2017 , Gaglianone et al 2018 ), blueberries ( Stephen et al 2008 , Tuell et al 2009 , Isaacs and Kirk 2010 , Scott et al 2016 ), and eggplants ( Gemmill-Herren and Ochieng 2008 , Montemor and Malerbo Souza 2009 , Desuó 2014 , Mainali et al 2018 ) suggest that buzz-pollinated crops often benefit from a diversity of buzz-pollinating bees.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In areas with a rich pollinator diversity, the best and most practical pollinators may be the native assemblages readily available, and efforts should be made to protect and promote them ( Macias-Macias et al 2009 , Franceschinelli et al 2013 ). Evidence from studies in tomatoes ( Kasina 2007 , Macias-Macias et al 2009 , Franceschinelli et al 2013 , Vinícius-Silva et al 2017 , Gaglianone et al 2018 ), blueberries ( Stephen et al 2008 , Tuell et al 2009 , Isaacs and Kirk 2010 , Scott et al 2016 ), and eggplants ( Gemmill-Herren and Ochieng 2008 , Montemor and Malerbo Souza 2009 , Desuó 2014 , Mainali et al 2018 ) suggest that buzz-pollinated crops often benefit from a diversity of buzz-pollinating bees. One reason for this could be that a diversity in size of different buzz-pollinating bee species complements the diversity in flower size found in tomato plants For example, it has been suggested that in some buzz-pollinated flowers, the size matching between the flower’s reproductive organs and bee size can yield increased seed set ( Solis-Montero and Vallejo-Marin 2017 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Buzz-Pollinated Crops: A Global Review and Meta-analysis of the Effects of Supplemental Bee Pollination in Tomato

Cooley

Vallejo‐Marín

2021

Journal of Economic Entomology

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Buzz-pollinated plants require visitation from vibration producing bee species to elicit full pollen release. Several important food crops are buzz-pollinated including tomato, eggplant, kiwi, and blueberry. Although more than half of all bee species can buzz pollinate, the most commonly deployed supplemental pollinator, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae; honey bees), cannot produce vibrations to remove pollen. Here, we provide a list of buzz-pollinated food crops and discuss the extent to which they rely on pollination by vibration-producing bees. We then use the most commonly cultivated of these crops, the tomato, Solanum lycopersicum L. (Solanales: Solanaceae), as a case study to investigate the effect of different pollination treatments on aspects of fruit quality. Following a systematic review of the literature, we statistically analyzed 71 experiments from 24 studies across different geopolitical regions and conducted a meta-analysis on a subset of 21 of these experiments. Our results show that both supplemental pollination by buzz-pollinating bees and open pollination by assemblages of bees, which include buzz pollinators, significantly increase tomato fruit weight compared to a no-pollination control. In contrast, auxin treatment, artificial mechanical vibrations, or supplemental pollination by non-buzz-pollinating bees (including Apis spp.), do not significantly increase fruit weight. Finally, we compare strategies for providing bee pollination in tomato cultivation around the globe and highlight how using buzz-pollinating bees might improve tomato yield, particularly in some geographic regions. We conclude that employing native, wild buzz pollinators can deliver important economic benefits with reduced environmental risks and increased advantages for both developed and emerging economies.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Buzz-Pollinated Crops: A Global Review and Meta-analysis of the Effects of Supplemental Bee Pollination in Tomato

Cooley

Vallejo‐Marín

2021

Journal of Economic Entomology

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“…The flowers are nectar-less, yellow in color and anthers are laterally bound together with pore-like openings at the apical end [25]. Flower agitation either by wind or natural pollinators (bumble bee, sweat bee, carpenter bee) is crucial for pollen removal [26].…”

Section: Study Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Efficiency of using electric toothbrush as an alternative to a tuning fork for artificial buzz pollination is independent of instrument buzzing frequency

2020

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Background: Breeding programs and research activities where artificial buzz-pollinations are required to have primarily relied upon using tuning forks, and bumble bees. However, these methods can be expensive, unreliable, and inefficient. To find an alternative, we tested the efficiency of pollen collection using electric toothbrushes and compared it with tuning forks at three vibration frequencies-low, medium, and high and two extraction times at 3 s and 16 s-from two buzz-pollinated species (Solanum lycopersicum and Solanum elaeagnifolium). Results:Our results show that species, and extraction time significantly influenced pollen extraction, while there were no significant differences for the different vibration frequencies and more importantly, the use of a toothbrush over tuning fork. More pollen was extracted from S. elaeagnifolium when compared to S. lycopersicum, and at longer buzzing time regardless of the instrument used. Conclusions:Our results suggest that electric toothbrushes can be a viable and inexpensive alternative to tuning forks, and regardless of the instrument used and buzzing frequency, length of buzzing time is also critical in pollen extraction.

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Potential regional declines in species richness of tomato pollinators in North America under climate change

Carrasco

Papeş

Lochner

et al. 2020

Ecological Applications

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About 70% of the world's main crops depend on insect pollination. Climate change is already affecting the abundance and distribution of insects, which could cause geographical mismatches between crops and their pollinators. Crops that rely primarily on wild pollinators (e.g., crops that cannot be effectively pollinated by commercial colonies of honey bees) could be particularly in jeopardy. However, limited information on plant-pollinator associations and pollinator distributions complicate the assessment of climate change impacts on specific crops. To study the potential impacts of climate change on pollination of a specific crop in North America, we use the case of open-field tomato crops, which rely on buzz pollinators (species that use vibration to release pollen, such as bumble bees) to increase their production. We aimed to (1) assess potential changes in buzz pollinator distribution and richness, and (2) evaluate the overlap between areas with high densities of tomato crops and high potential decrease in richness. We used baseline (1961-1990) climate and future (2050s and 2080s) climatic projections in ecological niche models fitted with occurrences of wild bees, documented in the literature as pollinators of tomatoes, to estimate the baseline and future potential distribution of suitable climatic conditions of targeted species and to create maps of richness change across North America. We obtained reliable models for 15 species and found important potential decreases in the distribution of some pollinators (e.g., Lasioglossum pectorale and Augochlorella aurata). We observed geographical discrepancies in the projected change in species richness across North America, detecting important declines in the eastern United States (up to 11 species decrease for 2050s). After overlapping the maps of species richness change with a tomato crop map for the United States, we found spatial correspondence between richness declines and areas with high concentration of tomato crops. Disparities in the effects of climate change on the potential future distribution of different wild pollinators and geographical variation in richness highlight the importance of crop-specific studies. Our study also emphasizes the challenges of compiling and modeling crop-specific pollinator data and the need to improve our understanding of current distribution of pollinators and their community dynamics under climate change.

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Native bees pollinate tomato flowers and increase fruit production

Cited by 34 publications

References 31 publications

Buzz-Pollinated Crops: A Global Review and Meta-analysis of the Effects of Supplemental Bee Pollination in Tomato

Buzz-Pollinated Crops: A Global Review and Meta-analysis of the Effects of Supplemental Bee Pollination in Tomato

Efficiency of using electric toothbrush as an alternative to a tuning fork for artificial buzz pollination is independent of instrument buzzing frequency

Potential regional declines in species richness of tomato pollinators in North America under climate change

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