Project

Ecology and management of pollination services in Korla fragrant pear in China

Insect pollinators provide important pollination services for fruit production in oasis areas in Xinjiang province, China. However, there are reports that farmers are resort frequently to artificial pollination and managed honeybee pollination indicating that pollination service are currently inadequate. The overall aim of this research is to point out pathways towards strengthening pollination services in intensive fruit production systems in the Xinjiang oasis areas.

Background

Pollination services provided by insect pollinators are critically important to entomophilous fruit crops. Xinjiang is the main fruit production area in China and fruit production is concentrated in irrigated oasis areas between the maintain ranges and the desert. Korla fragrant pear (Pyrus sinkiangensis) is a premium species of pear that is widely cultivated in Korla, Xinjiang, China. Fruit set with natural pollination is very low, hence farmers resort frequently to artificial pollination and managed honeybee pollination.

Project description

We conducted four years study (2018-2021) to quantify pollination in this unique agro-ecological context and investigate the relationships with pollinator abundance and diversity and with resources in the landscape.

Results

Our results confirmed there is a large pollination deficit, and this deficit is effectively mitigated by using managed honeybees (Apis mellifera). The top five wild bee species in pear orchards were Andrena yammagishii, Lasioglossum pseudannulipes, Lasioglossum niveocinctum, Andrena gelriae and Halictus pulvereus. High wild bee abundance was sampled in wild flowering herbs such as Medicago sativa (alfalfa) and Karelinia caspia, which could be use as food resources for wild bees after pear blooming. Wild bee abundance was increased in orchards with apricot trees interspersed between the pears. Making use of early-flowering resources (e.g. apricot trees) and honeybee attractive pheromones (e.g. Synthetic Nasonov gland pheromone) in pear orchards can stimulate pollinator abundance, and further potentially improve pear pollination in this intensive agricultural system.