Assessing the biodiversity and the impact of pollinators on carob production.
As the current climate crisis intensifies, drought resistant crops are becoming more important due to their ability to withstand the increasingly hotter and drier summers. Such crops are valuable for pollinators as they provide food resources for wild and managed species. The carob tree (Ceratonia s...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2023-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0291431 |
| _version_ | 1797637498839498752 |
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| author | Androulla I Varnava George A Manganaris Menelaos C Stavrinides |
| author_facet | Androulla I Varnava George A Manganaris Menelaos C Stavrinides |
| author_sort | Androulla I Varnava |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | As the current climate crisis intensifies, drought resistant crops are becoming more important due to their ability to withstand the increasingly hotter and drier summers. Such crops are valuable for pollinators as they provide food resources for wild and managed species. The carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua L.) represents an example of a heat- and drought- resistant crop, able to grow in dry areas with practically no inputs. The current study assessed over two growing seasons the diversity of wild bees and other pollinators relying on carob flowers, as well as the contribution of animal pollination to carob production. Carob flowers were subjected to two treatments: Open pollination, where inflorescences were left untreated, and wind pollination, where inflorescences were bagged in a mesh during blooming. Weekly observations during blooming showed that Apis mellifera was the most frequent floral visitor followed by wild bees and wasps. Carob flowers were visited by at least 10 different wild bee species. Open-pollinated flowers produced significantly more pods, with the benefit ranging from 4 to 16 times higher production, depending on the region. Open pollination led to pods with greater weight, length and number of seeds compared to pods derived from wind pollination. The results of the current study highlight the importance of animal pollination to carob production, as well as the significance of carob trees to wild bee conservation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T12:50:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-052cee7767704040b74bff09a28322cb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T12:50:16Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-052cee7767704040b74bff09a28322cb2023-11-04T05:32:57ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032023-01-011810e029143110.1371/journal.pone.0291431Assessing the biodiversity and the impact of pollinators on carob production.Androulla I VarnavaGeorge A ManganarisMenelaos C StavrinidesAs the current climate crisis intensifies, drought resistant crops are becoming more important due to their ability to withstand the increasingly hotter and drier summers. Such crops are valuable for pollinators as they provide food resources for wild and managed species. The carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua L.) represents an example of a heat- and drought- resistant crop, able to grow in dry areas with practically no inputs. The current study assessed over two growing seasons the diversity of wild bees and other pollinators relying on carob flowers, as well as the contribution of animal pollination to carob production. Carob flowers were subjected to two treatments: Open pollination, where inflorescences were left untreated, and wind pollination, where inflorescences were bagged in a mesh during blooming. Weekly observations during blooming showed that Apis mellifera was the most frequent floral visitor followed by wild bees and wasps. Carob flowers were visited by at least 10 different wild bee species. Open-pollinated flowers produced significantly more pods, with the benefit ranging from 4 to 16 times higher production, depending on the region. Open pollination led to pods with greater weight, length and number of seeds compared to pods derived from wind pollination. The results of the current study highlight the importance of animal pollination to carob production, as well as the significance of carob trees to wild bee conservation.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0291431 |
| spellingShingle | Androulla I Varnava George A Manganaris Menelaos C Stavrinides Assessing the biodiversity and the impact of pollinators on carob production. PLoS ONE |
| title | Assessing the biodiversity and the impact of pollinators on carob production. |
| title_full | Assessing the biodiversity and the impact of pollinators on carob production. |
| title_fullStr | Assessing the biodiversity and the impact of pollinators on carob production. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing the biodiversity and the impact of pollinators on carob production. |
| title_short | Assessing the biodiversity and the impact of pollinators on carob production. |
| title_sort | assessing the biodiversity and the impact of pollinators on carob production |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0291431 |
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