Seed Count and Berry Size in Relation to Pollinator Level and Harvest Date for the Highbush Blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum1

Brewer, J. W.; Dobson, R. C.

doi:10.1093/jee/62.6.1353

Cited by 33 publications

(31 citation statements)

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“…Differences in pollination can affect seed number, fruit shape and size in a variety of plants e.g. tomatoes (Palma et al 2008), blueberries (Brewer and Dobson 1969) and apples (Wei et al 2002). Snow and Snow (1988) proposed that fruits with a small seed burden and therefore a high pulp to seed ratio would be more profitable to birds; they took the example of ivy and suggested that smaller fruits containing fewer seeds would be the optimal food resource.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollinator effectiveness and fruit set in common ivy, Hedera helix (Araliaceae)

Jacobs

Clark

Denholm

et al. 2009

Arthropod-Plant Interactions

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Flowers of common ivy (Hedera helix L.) provide late season pollen and nectar for several insect groups, and its fruits are a winter and spring food source for frugivorous birds. Ivy benefits from insect pollination in order to set fruit, but it is unknown which flower-visiting insects are the most effective pollinators. Our observations suggest that Vespula wasps are potentially the most effective pollinators since they were frequent visitors, had relatively fast foraging rates, carried large numbers of pollen grains on their bodies and had the highest ‘Pollination potential PP index’ score (a measure of pollinator effectiveness) of all the insect groups examined. There was also a positive linear relationship between the proportion of ivy flowers that set fruit and wasp foraging activity in 0.5 m2 quadrats. Visits by Vespula wasps may therefore be important for ensuring a supply of ivy fruits for b

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollinator effectiveness and fruit set in common ivy, Hedera helix (Araliaceae)

Jacobs

Clark

Denholm

et al. 2009

Arthropod-Plant Interactions

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“…This method provides berries in which all the seeds have been set, avoids loss of overripe berries to predation or disease, and provides similar fruit weight data compared with harvesting each berry as it ripens (J.K.T., unpublished data). Fruit were weighed, counted, and the number of mature seeds counted (Brewer and Dobson 1969) in the three largest berries from each cluster. Yield values (kg/ha) were estimated for each treatment by multiplying the average berry weight by the number of berries harvested per cluster and the estimated number of clusters per hectare of a mature highbush blueberry Þeld.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weather During Bloom Affects Pollination and Yield of Highbush Blueberry

Tuell

Isaacs

2010

116

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Weather plays an important role in spring-blooming fruit crops due to the combined effects on bee activity, flower opening, pollen germination, and fertilization. To determine the effects of weather on highbush blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum L., productivity, we monitored bee activity and compared fruit set, weight, and seed number in a field stocked with honey bees, Apis mellifera L., and common eastern bumble bees, Bombus impatiens (Cresson). Flowers were subjected to one of five treatments during bloom: enclosed, open, open during poor weather only, open during good weather only, or open during poor and good weather. Fewer bees of all types were observed foraging and fewer pollen foragers returned to colonies during poor weather than during good weather. There were also changes in foraging community composition: honey bees dominated during good weather, whereas bumble bees dominated during poor weather. Berries from flowers exposed only during poor weather had higher fruit set in 1 yr and higher berry weight in the other year compared with enclosed clusters. In both years, clusters exposed only during good weather had > 5 times as many mature seeds, weighed twice as much, and had double the fruit set of those not exposed. No significant increase over flowers exposed during good weather was observed when clusters were exposed during good and poor weather. Our results are discussed in terms of the role of weather during bloom on the contribution of bees adapted to foraging during cool conditions.

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“…A positive relationship between the two is expected in Vaccinium spp. (Filmer and Marucci 1963, Dorr and Martin 1966, Brewer and Dobson 1969, Moore et al 1972 but is not universal, as demonstrated by MacKenzie (1997), who detected no association between seed number and fruit weight in highbush blueberry. With rabbiteye there appears to be a correspondence between small fruit size and low seed number in plants treated with the growth regulator gibberellic acid (NeSmith et al 1995).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Pollination of Rabbiteye Blueberry <I>Vaccinium ashei</I> var. ‘Climax’ is Pollinator Density-Dependent

Dedej¹,

Delaplane²

2003

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In a 2-yr field study, mature orchard plants of rabbiteye blueberry (Vaccinium ashei Reade variety 'Climax'), plus potted pollenizers ('Premier') were caged with varying densities of honey bees (0, 400, 800, 1,600, 3,200, 6,400, or 12,800 bees plus open plot) during the bloom interval. The rate of legitimate flower visits tended to increase as bee density increased within a range of 400-6,400 bees; there were more legitimate visits in cages with 6,400 bees than in those with < or = 1,600 bees. Similarly, within a range of 400-6,400 bees there was a trend for a corresponding increase in fruit-set with means ranging from 25.0 to 79%. Fruit-set was higher in cages with 6,400 or 3,200 bees than in those with < or = 800 bees. Regression analyses showed that fruit-set increased linearly with the rate of legitimate bee visits. Mean weight of berries was unaffected by bee density but varied significantly between years. Within a range of 0-3,200 bees/cage the average seeds per berry tended to increase with increasing bee density; there were more seeds in open plots than in cages with 12,800 honey bees or < or = 1,600 bees. Sucrose content ranged from 12.1 to 16.7% and fruits tended to have more sugar in cages with lower bee densities. Speed of ripening tended to be higher in cages with higher bee densities. Earlier work has shown that the effectiveness of Apis mellifera L. as a pollinator of rabbiteye blueberry is variety-dependent. Our data indicate that the effectiveness of A. mellifera is also bee density-dependent.

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Seed Count and Berry Size in Relation to Pollinator Level and Harvest Date for the Highbush Blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum1

Cited by 33 publications

References 0 publications

Pollinator effectiveness and fruit set in common ivy, Hedera helix (Araliaceae)

Pollinator effectiveness and fruit set in common ivy, Hedera helix (Araliaceae)

Weather During Bloom Affects Pollination and Yield of Highbush Blueberry

Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Pollination of Rabbiteye Blueberry <I>Vaccinium ashei</I> var. ‘Climax’ is Pollinator Density-Dependent

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