Management of pollination services to enhance crop productivity

Abstract

Pollination is a prerequisite for fruit and seed set. As fruits and/or seeds are the economic products of most of our crop species, pollination plays a vital role in realizing optimal yield. Except cereals which are wind pollinated, most of our crop species are pollinated by animals, largely insects. Historically pollination of crop plants was dependent on wild native pollinators present on and around the crop fields. Due to a number of reasons, particularly habitat degradation and monoculture cropping system, wild pollinators have not been able to provide adequate pollination services to crop plants. Various approaches are now available to sustain pollination in crop species. The most effective approach is to use managed pollinators; they are being used routinely in developed countries for over 15 major crops and has developed into a well-organized industry. Managed pollinators include honeybees, particularly Apis mellifera, bumblebees and recently a few solitary bees such as species of Osmia, Nomia and Megachile. Greenhouse-grown tomatoes are pollinated exclusively by managed bumblebees. Techniques have also been developed to carry out supplementary pollinations through pollen sprays to overcome pollination constraints in self-incompatible species and also during inclement weather conditions under which bee activity gets reduced. Hand pollination is also followed for production of hybrid seeds in some vegetable crops. Recent trend has been towards integrated use of managed pollinators along with wild pollinators by maintaining pollinator-friendly habitats and agricultural practices. The technology of using managed pollinators to overcome pollination constraints is yet to be exploited in developing countries, largely due to lack of awareness amongst the farmers, insufficient data on crop pollinators and limitation of research backup on the management of pollination services.