The importance of pollinators for agricultural production

SÁEZ, AGUSTÍN; AIZEN MARCELO A.

Congreso; i9Kiwi; 2021

Grupo Operacional i9kiwi

Modern agriculture is becoming increasingly pollinator dependent. However, the global stock of domesticated honey bees is growing at a slower rate than its demand while wild bees are declining worldwide. This uneven scenario of high pollinator demand and low pollinator availability predicts a scenario of increasing pollination deficits, limiting crop yield. In fact, pollination limitation is common among several pollinator dependent crops, indicating that current regimens of pollination are inadequate to maximize crop yield. For this reason, many highly pollinator-dependent crops, like kiwi, cherimoya and apples, among others, are nowadays pollinated artificially by humans. Although efficient when properly used, artificial pollination is expensive and time consuming, particularly in extensive orchards. For this reason, the enhancement of wild pollinator assemblages through active habitat management, together with the use of managed bees, like honey bees, are considered key aspects to sustain high crop yield in agricultural context.