Honeybee and Crop Pollination

Abstract

Pollination, the transfer of pollen grains to the stigma of the plant gynoecium is a crucial step in the sexual reproduction of flowering plants. The majority of flowering plants rely on animals for the transfer of pollen. Because flower visitors gain no direct benefit by pollinating flowers, rewards must lure them. The most common way plants attract animals to visit their flowers is by providing food such as nectar, pollen or oils. While searching for these rewards in the flower, pollen from the flower's anthers may stick to the body of the animal. When the animal visits subsequent flowers in search of more rewards, pollen from its body may adhere to the stigma of these flowers and again, new pollen may stick to the body of the animal. Pollination is basic to agricultural and natural productivity and an ancient co-evolved process involving animals and plants in mutualism. The value to agriculture is huge and to global economy of nature inestimable. Nevertheless, pollination is a threatened system from highly managed agriculture to remote wilderness. Pesticides take their toll, insecticides directly killing pollinators and herbicides indirectly by reducing pollinator forage. Habitat destruction has reduced pollination in croplands and natural areas. Honey bee diseases threaten to change the demography of beekeeping and availability of pollination. Encouragement of wild pollinators, domestication of unused potential pollinators, and more environmentally sensitive human exploitation of the world are needed as part of conservation, forestry, agroforestry, sustainable agriculture and development.