Bees increase crop yield in an alleged pollinator-independent almond variety

SÁEZ, AGUSTIN; AIZEN, MARCELO A.; MEDICI, SANDRA; VIEL, MATIAS; VILLALOBOS, ETHEL; NEGRI, PEDRO

Scientific Reports

Nature

Año: 2020 vol. 10

Wild pollinators are declining and the number of managed honey bee colonies is growing slower thanagricultural demands for pollination. Because of these contrasting trends in pollinator demand andavailability, breeding programs for many pollinator-dependent crops have focused on reducing theneed for pollinators. Although numerous crop varieties are now available in the market with the labelof pollinator-independent, the real dependence of these varieties on pollinators is mostly unknown. Weevaluated the hypothesis of pollinator independence in the Independence almond variety, the fastestgrowing variety in California that is the main almond production region in the world. In this presumedpollinator-independent variety, we measured the effect of honey bees on fruit set, yield, and kernelnutritional quality at tree level. Fruit set was 60% higher in bee-pollinated than bee-isolated trees,which translated into a 20% increase in kernel yield. Despite its effect on almond production, therewas no evidence that bee visitation affected almond nutritional quality. Based on these results, werecommend the use of bees, whether they are wild or managed, to maximize yield even in self-fertilealmond varieties.