Benefits of Insect Pollination in Brassicaceae: A Meta-Analysis of Self-Compatible and Self-Incompatible Crop Species

Abstract

This paper reviewed the effects of insect pollination on the yield parameters of plants from the family Brassicaceae presenting different breeding systems. Meta-analysis indicates that in both self-compatible and self-incompatible crop species, meta-analysis indicates that seed yield (Y), silique set (SQS), number of siliquae/plant (NSQ), and the number of seeds/silique (NSSQ) increase when plants are insect-pollinated compared to when there is no insect pollination. The weight of seeds (WS), however, increased in self-incompatible species but not in self-compatible ones as a result of insect pollination. Overall, the percentage of studies showing a positive effect of insect pollination on yield parameters was higher in self-incompatible than in self-compatible species. It was shown that the ability of self-compatible species to reproduce does not fully compensate for the loss of yield benefits in the absence of insect pollination. Cultivated Brassicaceae attract a wide variety of pollinators, with honeybees (Apis spp.) such as A. mellifera L., A. cerana F., A. dorsata F., and A. florea F. (Hymenoptera: Apidae); other Apidae, such as bumblebees (Bombus spp.) (Hymenoptera: Apidae); mining bees (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae); sweat bees (Hymenoptera: Halictidae); and hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) constituting the most common ones. The benefits of insect pollination imply that pollinator conservation programs play a key role in maximizing yield in cruciferous crops.