This thesis looks at the role of wild pollinators in providing services to crops. Two data chapters (2 and 3) are accompanied by a modelling chapter (4) which build on the findings of the field studies. The thesis ends with an overview of the trends in pollinator populations and how these relate to the needs of farmers in the UK (chap-ter 5). It is often assumed that commercial pollinators are appropriate substitutes of wild pollinators on farms; however this view neglects the differing roles that particular pollinator taxa might play in providing pollination services. For example, crops with a long growing system may require multiple pollinators to ensure pollination throughout the season. Strawberries in Scotland have an extremely long growing season, flowering from April to August. Chapter 2 presents a study showing season-al complementarity between different pollinating taxa across strawberry farms in Scotland. Pollinators of strawberries also differed in their responses to weather pa-rameters indicating that preserving multiple pollinator taxa could ensure yields un-der different weather scenarios. The requirements of a long-growing season and ad-verse weather may be specific to strawberry production in Scotland, but the valua-tion of multiple taxa can be generalised to systems with differing needs, and also to different ecosystem services. Wild bees are not only valuable for providing complementary services to commercial pollinators, but are also valuable in the longer term as it is unknown whether com-mercial pollinators will be available in the future. There are threats to the supply of honeybees which have already triggered price rises; such supply shocks could force farmers to leave production or to seek other ways of providing pollination, including supporting wild pollinators. However farm management pressures, in particular pes-ticide use, could threaten the ability of wild pollinators to continue to support crop production. The interplay of pesticides and pollination is discussed in chapter 3 and 4. Chapter 3 presents an experiment undertaken on soft-fruit farms which had and had not used the neonicotinoid, thiacloprid, and shows that nests exposed to thia-cloprid had higher worker mortality, and lower male production than those at con-trol farms. This has implications both for pollination services now, as worker mor-tality will reduce the number of bees visiting farms, and also for the maintenance of future pollination services through decreased reproductive capacity of exposed nests. Chapter 4 uses a theoretical model to link pesticide use and habitat use to pollina-tion services, and shows that the use of commercial pollinators could mask the de-cline in wild populations, making local extinctions more likely. Chapter 5 sets out the status and extent of pollinators in the UK, along with popu-lation trends, trends in habitat and trends in pesticide use to provide an overview of how well pollination services are likely to meet the ongoing needs of crop farmers.

'Golden Delicious' winter squash (GDWS), Cucurbita maxima Duchesne, provides significant amounts of pollen (24 mg) and nectar (236 μl), but with a low reward of 14% nectar sugar. The quantity of nectar produced per GDWS flower differed between sites and floral sex. The GDWS male flowers had 25% higher sugar concentration than female flowers. There was no statistical difference in the percent of nectar sugars per flower between sites, but the interaction between site and floral sex was statistically significant for the amount of nectar and percent of nectar sugars. Pollen production per flower differed significantly between sites with the most productive site producing 27% more, and 45% more than the other sites. Pollination efficiency of honeybees and bumble bees was assessed with field cages (1.8x1.8x1.8 m). No significant differences were found except for the interaction between the bee treatment and year on number of fruit per cage. This significant difference reflects the increase in fruit number produced by honey bees in 1997. The effect of distance from honey bee hives on fruit and seed quality was tested, and found significant only for B- and C-seeds weight, which were both less in the plots farthest from the nearest group of honey bee hives. Placement of honey bee hives in fields of ≤120 ha appears not to be critical for adequate pollination of GDWS. Other pollinators (excluding honey bees) were frequent visitors to the squash flowers studied here - for example, Bombus spp., Megachilids, Halictids, etc. These other pollinators, mostly bumble bees, accounted for 3.55% of all bee visits. Honey bees visited proportionately more female flowers in the morning, and progressively switched to the more abundant male flowers in the afternoon. This bias differed by site and year. Bumble bees visited proportionally slightly more male GDWS flowers than did female flowers and did it in a similar rate throughout the day. From 15 minute observations each hour of individual female GDWS flower, we calculated that they received approximately 80 honey bee visits per day. / Graduation date: 2001

The goals of this research project were to investigate aspects of pollination biology of two native boreal species: Vaccinium myrtilloides (Canadian blueberry) and Vaccinium vitis-idaea (lingonberry) in central Saskatchewan. Accordingly, surveys of insect taxa visiting the flowers were performed, and determination of the effectiveness of these insect taxa to serve as pollinators was measured through pollen deposition and pollen tube growth in the style. Accompanying fieldwork, and morphological and anatomical studies were done for the two food rewards offered by flowers of both Vaccinium species: pollen released through poricidal anthers and nectar secreted from the nectary atop the inferior ovary. Pollen-ovule (P/O) ratios were determined for the two study species in Saskatchewan (V. myrtilloides, V. vitis-idaea) as well as for five other Vaccinium species from eastern Canada (Nova Scotia – V. angustifolium, V. boreale, V. caespitosum, V. corymbosum, and V. uliginosum). Pollen, released at maturity as tetrads, were converted to total pollen grains per flower to yield P/O ratios ranging from 238 (V. caespitosum) to 2,008 (V. vitis-idaea), but 736 for the latter in Saskatchewan. These P/O ratios are indicative of a breeding system ranging from facultative autogamy to facultative xenogamy. Additionally, the structure of mature stamens and pollen tetrads was studied in V. myrtilloides and V. vitis-idaea. Each anther was functionally bilocular; had a single-cell thickness (i.e., epidermis) with regularly occurring papillae; lacked an endothecium; and possessed two distal, hollow tubules each terminating in a pore. Overall pollen grain viability was 76-97% (V. myrtilloides) and 51-93% (V. vitis-idaea), with about 20% of tetrads having only 1-3 grains viable, and 12% and 27% of tetrads entirely non-viable in V. myrtilloides and V. vitis-idaea, respectively. Pollen tetrads occasionally were connected by a sticky substance resembling pollenkitt, but viscin threads were absent. One instance of precocious (in situ) germination of tetrads was recorded within anthers of V. myrtilloides. The floral nectary was a disk of secretory tissue situated between the stamens and the style. The epidermis possessed solitary stomata that were variable in number, but not different between V. myrtilloides and V. vitis-idaea. The nectary was vascularized by phloem alone; many traces were found for V. myrtilloides throughout the nectary, whereas V. vitis-idaea had few traces at the nectary base, concentrated at the inner side of the disk closest to the style base. Young sclerenchyma cells were found throughout the nectary parenchyma. Nectar production started on the day of anthesis for both species, although many flowers of V. vitis-idaea appeared to have no measureable nectar at that time. V. myrtilloides produced a larger range of nectar solutes per flower (0 - 3684.1 μg), than V. vitis-idaea iii (1.29 to 1147.62 μg) over both years; nectar volumes per flower never exceeded 5 μL. Nectar was measured daily in flowers aged 1 – 4 days in 2010 and 1 – 6 days in 2011, however, over the two years at the same study site there was no clear pattern of secretion and reabsorption throughout flower life for V. myrtilloides, and only a gradual increase for V. vitis-idaea as flowers aged. Insect visitors to flowers surveyed in 2010 included a large proportion of honeybees (Apis mellifera) as visitors to both species, whereas in 2011 there were no honeybees present at the field site. There was a larger proportion of hoverflies (Syrphidae) found on the flowers of V. vitis-idaea than on V. myrtilloides. Other visitors to V. myrtilloides were bees (Bombus, Andrena, Osmia, Colletes) and wasps (Vespidae), whereas flowers of V. vitis-idaea were visited by bees (Bombus, Andrena, Osmia, Lasioglossum, Colletes, Hylaeus), an ant (Formicidae) and a butterfly (Lycaenidae). Bombus spp. were shown to be pollinators of V. myrtilloides. Andrena spp. were probable pollinators, whereas honeybees appeared to be poor pollinators. Bombus spp. seemed probable pollinators of V. vitis-idaea and hoverflies to be barely more than visitors, though small sample sizes did not allow for conclusive evidence. The time that an insect spent on a virgin flower had no relationship to the pollination result. Among individuals of various Bombus spp. that did or did not sonicate flowers of V. myrtilloides, the action of “buzz pollination” was shown to result in an increase in the number of pollen tetrads deposited and in pollen tube growth.

Large areas of moist upland grassland in KwaZulu-Natal are severely fragmented due to large scale farming of exotic trees. The aims of this thesis were to determine whether habitat fragmentation of these grasslands has a detrimental effect on plant-pollinator interactions and hence the reproductive output of the wildflower species occurring there and whether the magnitude of this effect can be predicted by breeding and pollination system characteristics. The 24 wildflower species included in this study appear to support a rich and diverse pollinator community, including long-tongued solitary bees, long-tongued flies, hawkmoths and sunbirds. Two thirds of the wildflower species appear relatively specialised in terms of pollination, with six species entirely dependent either on a single species or a specific functional type of pollinator for pollination. The majority of wildflower species (90%) were found to be incapable of autonomous self-pollination and thus dependent on pollinators for fruit and seed set. At least six species are obligately xenogamous. Little evidence was found for pollen limitation in undisturbed moist upland grassland, suggesting that these grasslands are characterised by high levels of pollinator activity. Greater levels of pollen limitation of reproductive output in habitat fragments was evident in two species, suggesting that depressed reproductive output in habitat fragments may be the consequence of a decrease in the quantity and/or quality of pollinator services. Significant detrimental effects of habitat fragmentation on reproductive output were evident in two thirds of the wildflower species, with 94% of the species exhibiting overall declines in seed set per flower from the continuous grassland site to the habitat fragments. The median decline in seed set per flower for the wildflower species was found to be 33.0%. Significantly more species experienced overall declines in reproductive output than would have been expected by chance alone. Only specificity of the pollination interaction in terms of number of pollinator taxa involved was found to be significantly related to percentage change in seed set from continuous to fragment habitats. This effect was diminished when other factors were included in a multiple regression. Results support Bond's (1994) hypothesis that degree of specificity in pollination systems is important in determining extinction risk of a given plant species. Declines in reproductive output of a range of wildflower species in grassland habitat fragments may affect the local persistence of these populations, particularly if recruitment is seed-limited. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002.

Honeybees are used as a major agricultural input around the world and their pollination services have been valued at US$14.6 billion to the United States alone. Dramatic declines in honeybee populations around the globe, however, questioned the sustainability of this reliance on a single pollinator species. In this study, I investigated the response of wild pollinator communities to declining honeybee density and changing land use intensity to determine the potential of wild pollinators to compensate for honeybee loss in an increasingly human-modified environment. I generated a gradient of declining honeybee density using increasing distances from commercial bee hives, and conducted flower observations on experimentally-grown plants across this gradient. I investigate how declining honeybee densities and intensifying land use combine to influence the composition of the pollinator community as a whole, then go on to explore individual trends in the most common pollinator species. I then analyze how this impacts the transport of viable pollen by the pollinator community and determine how these changes alter seed set in several common plant species. I then change my focus away from the composition of the pollinator community, and instead investigate how declining honeybee densities and land-use intensification influence the structuring of interactions between plants and pollinators within the community. I identify the pollen species carried by pollinators, and use this to construct a network of pollination interactions. I then use this network to analyze how changes in the way species interact influences the pollination services delivered by the pollinator community to different plant groups (weeds, native plants, and crop species). My findings show that honeybee declines may have a large impact on community structure and interactions within pollination systems. I observed a significant shift in the wild pollinator community composition as honeybee densities declined, from a generally bee/hoverfly dominated community to one more dominated by large flies. This was associated with a significant decline in the total pollen load transported by the community, indicating that pollination services may suffer in the absence of honeybees. As honeybee densities declined, however, I also observed a shift toward greater specialisation of pollinators on abundant resources, increased pollinator constancy, and a higher viability rate of the pollen transported. These findings show that although the total amount of pollen transported by the community declined as honeybee densities decreased, the probability of this pollen transport resulting in effective pollination likely increased. Thus, I observed no decrease in seed set with honeybee declines in any of the three plant species tested, and one of these even showed a significant increase. Finally, I also demonstrated that this change differentially affected different plant types, and that the extent of changes to each plant species differed between land-use types. This reflected changes in the relative abundance of pollen types in different land uses, with greater specialisation in the absence of honeybees disproportionately benefiting common species. These findings have strong implications for several contemporary issues in pollination biology, both locally within New Zealand and on a global scale. These are discussed in the following sections. Finally, I conclude by discussing the implications of this research on several contemporary issues in pollination biology, namely the ability for wild pollinators to compensate for honeybee declines, the impact of honeybees on natural new Zealand ecosystems, the contribution of honeybees to invasive weed pollination and finally the management of surrounding land use types to maximize the effectiveness of wild pollinators.

CAVALCANTE, Marcelo Casimiro. Visitantes florais e polinização da castanha-do-brasil (Bertholletia excelsa h. & b.) em cultivo na amazônia central. 2008. 77 f . : Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Ceará, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Departamento de Zootecnia, Fortaleza-CE, 2008 / Submitted by Nádja Goes (nmoraissoares@gmail.com) on 2016-08-04T14:35:55Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_dis_mccavalcante.pdf: 4677248 bytes, checksum: 4340f234a96bd5d1a31f3324c2e71f87 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Nádja Goes (nmoraissoares@gmail.com) on 2016-08-04T14:36:17Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_dis_mccavalcante.pdf: 4677248 bytes, checksum: 4340f234a96bd5d1a31f3324c2e71f87 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-04T14:36:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2008_dis_mccavalcante.pdf: 4677248 bytes, checksum: 4340f234a96bd5d1a31f3324c2e71f87 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / The research was carried out in Aruanã farm, county of Itacoatiara, in the state of Amazonas, Brazil, in an area of 3,600 ha cultivated Brazil nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa). Data were collected from October to December 2007, to investigate floral visitors and the pollination of grafted Brazil nut trees cultivated in Central Amazon Forest, aiming to maximize the crop productivity. Floral biology and pollination requirements of this crop were assessed as well as richness, diversity and abundance of floral visitors in relation to the flowering phase of the trees (5, 25 and 50%); foraging behavior of bees visiting the flowers, initial fruit set and number of seeds set per fruit in hand and bagging pollination experiments (open pollination, restricted pollination, hand cross-pollination, hand self-pollination and hand geitonogamy). Results showed that 19 bee species, belonging to three Families, visited the flowers all-day long collecting nectar and pollen. Richness, diversity and abundance varied according to the blooming stages, showing increments to the former two and decrease in bee abundance per tree as blooming progressed. The most abundant and frequent species in the area during the whole blooming period were Xylocopa frontalis (63%) and Eulaema mocsaryi (12%). Natural pollination levels found showed to be lower than the crop’s potential observed by hand pollination. The Brazil nut tree allows geitonogamy (3.85%) in initial fruit set, but its level is significantly lower (p>0,01) than that of hand cross-pollination (19.33%), which needs biotic pollinators, in this case large-sized bees, to accomplish successful pollination. The number of viable seeds varied significantly (p>0.05) among treatments showing that open pollination and hand cross-pollination produced similar results between them, but greater than geitonogamy. The forging behavior of E. mocsaryi and X. frontalis led to the conclusion that they are the main pollinators of ertholletia excelsa under cultivation in that area. Richness, diversity and abundance of flora visitors and potential pollinators can be related to the surrounding forest which provides adequate environment to keep pollinators in periods of the year when the crop is not blooming / A pesquisa foi realizada na Fazenda Agropecuária Aruanã, município de Itacoatiara, Estado do Amazonas, numa área de 3600 ha de cultivo de castanheira-dobrasil (Bertholletia excelsa). Os dados foram coletados de outubro a dezembro de 2007, investigando os visitantes florais e a polinização da castanheira-do-brasil enxertada em cultivo na Amazônia Central, visando maximizar a produtividade da cultura. Foram estudados a biologia floral e os requerimentos de polinização da espécie em cultivo; a riqueza, diversidade e abundância dos visitantes florais em função do período de florescimento da cultura (5, 25 e 50%); o comportamento de forrageio das abelhas visitantes florais, bem como o vingamento inicial e número de sementes por fruto nos diferentes testes de polinização (polinização aberta, restrita, manual cruzada, geitonogamia manual e autopolinização manual). Os resultados mostraram que 19 espécies de abelhas, de três famílias, coletaram néctar e pólen durante todo o dia. A riqueza, diversidade e abundância de visitantes florais variaram em função do estágio de florescimento da cultura, havendo crescimento das duas primeiras com o aumento do florescimento, e queda em abundância por árvore. As espécies de abelhas mais abundantes e freqüentes na área de estudo, durante todo o período da florada, foram Xylocopa frontalis (63%) e a Eulaema mocsaryi (12%). Os níveis de polinização natural da cultura encontraram-se abaixo do seu potencial de vingamento quando comparados com a polinização induzida manualmente. A castanheira permite pequeno percentual de geitonogamia (3,85%) para o vingamento inicial, porém este é significativamente menor (p>0,01) que a polinização cruzada manual (19,33%), a qual necessita de polinizadores bióticos. O número de sementes viáveis diferiu significativamente (p>0,05) entre os tratamentos, onde a polinização natural e polinização cruzada manual foram semelhantes entre si e superiores à geitonogamia. Conclui-se que, em função do comportamento de forrageio, as espécies E. mocsaryi e X. frontalis podem ser considerados os principais polinizadores de Bertholletia excelsa sob cultivo. A riqueza, diversidade e abundância de visitantes florais e polinizadores potenciais podem estar relacionadas à floresta do entorno que promove ambiente propício para manutenção dos mesmos no período de não florescimento da cultura

OLIVEIRA, Mikail Olinda de. Abelhas visitantes florais e potenciais polinizadores da cajazeira (Spondias mombin L.) sob cultivo, na Chapada do Apodi, Ceará. 2010. 63 f. : Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Ceará, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Departamento de Zootecnia, Fortaleza-CE, 2010 / Submitted by Nádja Goes (nmoraissoares@gmail.com) on 2016-08-09T13:29:54Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2010_dis_mooliveira.pdf: 2015815 bytes, checksum: bda446727f9a1afc6799353468fea9d6 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Nádja Goes (nmoraissoares@gmail.com) on 2016-08-09T13:30:35Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2010_dis_mooliveira.pdf: 2015815 bytes, checksum: bda446727f9a1afc6799353468fea9d6 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-09T13:30:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2010_dis_mooliveira.pdf: 2015815 bytes, checksum: bda446727f9a1afc6799353468fea9d6 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / The research was carried out from November of 2009 to January of 2010, in the Apodi plateau, situated in the county of Limoeiro do Norte, state of Ceará. It was used 32 cajazeira trees (Spondias mombim L.) of the Lagoa Redonda cloning tree, grafted on the umbuzeiro tree (Spondias tuberose A.). The objective was to verify some variables regarding to floral biology; foraging pattern; abundance and frequency of floral visitors, mainly bees, of the cajazeira tree during the blooming season. It was also observed the initial fruit set for each pollination test (open pollination; restricted pollination with a paper pollination bag; restricted with a tulle pollination bag; hand cross pollination with pollen from males flowers; hand cross with pollen from hermaphrodite flowers; autopollination and pollination by honeybee, Apis mellifera and stingless bee, Trigona spinipes). The results showed that the main and most abundant floral visitors of the cajazeira tree were A. mellifera (68%) followed by T. spnipes (30%), Xylocopa grisescens (1%) and Plebeia aff. Flavocincta (1%). Although the cajazeira tree presents high production of flowers, the levels of open pollination are below to its potential of setting fruits, when compared with the hand cross-pollination and with the pollination by Apis mellifera. The flowers of cajajeira tree are unable to do self-pollination, thus requiring the participation of abiotic agents, in this case the wind, and/or biotic agents like bees, to promote their pollination. It is concluded that the cajazeira tree, is an andromonoecious, and allogamous species which produces high amount of pollen, and presents a melittophilous pollination syndrome whose the species Apis mellifera, Trigona spinipes and Xylocopa grisecens are its effective pollinators. Among them, Apis mellifera was the main, and the most efficient pollinator, which improved the initial fruit set on the Lagoa Redonda cloning tree, under cultivation conditions, in the Apodi plateau, state of Ceará. / A pesquisa foi realizada entre os meses de novembro de 2009 a janeiro de 2010, na Chapada do Apodi, em Limoeiro do Norte, no estado do Ceará. Utilizaram-se, ao todo, 32 árvores de cajazeira (Spondias mombin L.), do clone Lagoa Redonda, enxertado sobre umbuzeiro (Spondias tuberosa Arruda). O trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a biologia floral, o padrão de forrageamento, abundância e freqüência das abelhas visitantes florais da cajazeira durante todo o período de florescimento, além do vingamento inicial (fertilização das flores) de acordo com os diferentes testes de polinização (polinização livre, restrita com papel, restrita com filó, manual cruzada com o pólen oriundo de flores masculinas, manual cruzada com o pólen oriundo de flores hermafroditas, autopolinização manual, polinização por abelhas Apis mellifera e polinização por abelhas Trigona spinipes). Os resultados mostraram que os principais e mais abundantes visitantes florais das flores de cajazeira, foram Apis mellifera (68%), Trigona spinipes (30%), Xylocopa grisescens (1%) e Plebeia aff. Flavocincta (1%). A cajazeira possui uma elevada produção de flores, porém os níveis de polinização natural estão muito abaixo do seu potencial de vingamento de frutos, quando comparados com a polinização cruzada manual e com a polinização por Apis mellifera. As flores da cajazeira não possuem a capacidade de realizar a autopolinização, necessitando da participação de agentes abióticos, no caso o vento e/ou bióticos, como as abelhas, para que haja a polinização das flores. Conclui-se que, a cajazeira é uma espécie andromonóica e alógama, grande produtora de pólen e com síndrome de polinização por melitofilia, onde as espécies Apis mellifera, Trigona spinipes e Xylocopa grisecens são os seus efetivos polinizadores. Sendo a Apis mellifera, o principal polinizador e o mais eficiente, promovendo incremento no vingamento dos frutos do clone de cajazeira Lagoa Redonda, sob cultivo, na Chapada do Apodi, Ceará.

ANDRADE, Patricia Barreto de. Potenciais polinizadores e requerimentos de polinização do gergelim (Sesamum indicum). 2009. 74 f. : Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Ceará, Centro de Ciências Agrárias, Departamento de Zootecnia, Fortaleza-CE, 2009. / Submitted by demia Maia (demiamlm@gmail.com) on 2016-08-09T15:40:40Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_dis_pbandrade.pdf: 817167 bytes, checksum: a4e982c26bc2b44e6c3fe36b337fe42c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Nádja Goes (nmoraissoares@gmail.com) on 2016-08-09T15:42:07Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_dis_pbandrade.pdf: 817167 bytes, checksum: a4e982c26bc2b44e6c3fe36b337fe42c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-09T15:42:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2009_dis_pbandrade.pdf: 817167 bytes, checksum: a4e982c26bc2b44e6c3fe36b337fe42c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / O trabalho teve por objetivo estudar os requerimentos de polinização do gergelim (Sesamum indicum), assim como seus visitantes florais e os efeitos dos tipos de polinização na produção de frutos e qualidade de sementes. A pesquisa foi realizada em três localidades: no município de Sousa na Paraíba, com a variedade BRS SEDA, numa propriedade particular; no município de Barbalha no Ceará, com a variedade G2, em um campo experimental da Embrapa Algodão; e na Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC) em Fortaleza, onde foram feitas as análises laboratoriais. As observações foram coletadas de dezembro de 2007 a fevereiro de 2008 em Sousa e de novembro de 2008 a janeiro de 2009 no município de Barbalha. O trabalho foi dividido em quatro etapas: 1 - diversidade e abundância dos visitantes florais no gergelim; 2 – comportamento de forrageamento dos visitantes florais; 3 - biologia floral, requerimentos de polinização e eficiência polinizadora de Apis mellifera com apenas uma visita e 4 - avaliação dos efeitos dos tipos de polinização na produção de frutos e na qualidade das sementes. Os experimentos foram montados em delineamento inteiramente casualizado e os dados analisados por meio de análise de variância com comparação de médias a posteriori pelo teste Tukey. Todos os visitantes observados foram da ordem Hymenoptera, sendo representados por três famílias diferentes: Apidae, Anthophoridae e Vespidae. As abelhas Apis mellifera e Trigona spinipes, em ambos os municípios, iniciaram a coleta de pólen junto à antese, às 7 horas, cessando às 11 horas. Após esse horário passaram somente a coletar néctar, cessando às 17 horas em Sousa e às 15 horas em Barbalha. Houve diferença significativa entre os tratamentos no número de frutos colhidos 30 dias após as polinizações, onde o maior número de frutos colhido foi observado na polinização livre e este tratamento apenas foi diferente da autopolinização manual. Com a polinização livre foi obtido o melhor resultado, tanto aos 5 dias, como aos 30, mesmo não sendo diferente da polinização manual cruzada. Os resultados deste trabalho mostram que não há carência de polinizadores e nem de déficit de polinização na área. Foi demonstrado que o gergelim é uma planta de polinização mista, pois os resultados deste experimento mostraram que ele pode produzir frutos sob qualquer um dos tipos de polinização testados. Suas flores são capazes de se autopolinizar, que não depende de agentes externos. As polinizações restritas com papel e restrita com filó apresentaram os frutos com sementes mais pesadas e uma maior quantidade delas dentro do fruto. Também não foram encontradas diferenças entre os tratamentos de polinização para a avaliação fisiológica das sementes. Conclui-se que as abelhas foram os visitantes florais mais abundantes e diversos, sendo a espécie Apis mellifera considerada uma potencial polinizadora, já que foi capaz de visitar as flores de gergelim para coleta legítima e ilegítima de néctar e pólen. A cultura do gergelim beneficia-se tanto da autopolinização quanto da polinização cruzada / O trabalho teve por objetivo estudar os requerimentos de polinização do gergelim (Sesamum indicum), assim como seus visitantes florais e os efeitos dos tipos de polinização na produção de frutos e qualidade de sementes. A pesquisa foi realizada em três localidades: no município de Sousa na Paraíba, com a variedade BRS SEDA, numa propriedade particular; no município de Barbalha no Ceará, com a variedade G2, em um campo experimental da Embrapa Algodão; e na Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC) em Fortaleza, onde foram feitas as análises laboratoriais. As observações foram coletadas de dezembro de 2007 a fevereiro de 2008 em Sousa e de novembro de 2008 a janeiro de 2009 no município de Barbalha. O trabalho foi dividido em quatro etapas: 1 - diversidade e abundância dos visitantes florais no gergelim; 2 – comportamento de forrageamento dos visitantes florais; 3 - biologia floral, requerimentos de polinização e eficiência polinizadora de Apis mellifera com apenas uma visita e 4 - avaliação dos efeitos dos tipos de polinização na produção de frutos e na qualidade das sementes. Os experimentos foram montados em delineamento inteiramente casualizado e os dados analisados por meio de análise de variância com comparação de médias a posteriori pelo teste Tukey. Todos os visitantes observados foram da ordem Hymenoptera, sendo representados por três famílias diferentes: Apidae, Anthophoridae e Vespidae. As abelhas Apis mellifera e Trigona spinipes, em ambos os municípios, iniciaram a coleta de pólen junto à antese, às 7 horas, cessando às 11 horas. Após esse horário passaram somente a coletar néctar, cessando às 17 horas em Sousa e às 15 horas em Barbalha. Houve diferença significativa entre os tratamentos no número de frutos colhidos 30 dias após as polinizações, onde o maior número de frutos colhido foi observado na polinização livre e este tratamento apenas foi diferente da autopolinização manual. Com a polinização livre foi obtido o melhor resultado, tanto aos 5 dias, como aos 30, mesmo não sendo diferente da polinização manual cruzada. Os resultados deste trabalho mostram que não há carência de polinizadores e nem de déficit de polinização na área. Foi demonstrado que o gergelim é uma planta de polinização mista, pois os resultados deste experimento mostraram que ele pode produzir frutos sob qualquer um dos tipos de polinização testados. Suas flores são capazes de se autopolinizar, que não depende de agentes externos. As polinizações restritas com papel e restrita com filó apresentaram os frutos com sementes mais pesadas e uma maior quantidade delas dentro do fruto. Também não foram encontradas diferenças entre os tratamentos de polinização para a avaliação fisiológica das sementes. Conclui-se que as abelhas foram os visitantes florais mais abundantes e diversos, sendo a espécie Apis mellifera considerada uma potencial polinizadora, já que foi capaz de visitar as flores de gergelim para coleta legítima e ilegítima de néctar e pólen. A cultura do gergelim beneficia-se tanto da autopolinização quanto da polinização cruzada

Made available in DSpace on 2014-08-20T13:25:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 dissertacao_jones_eloy.pdf: 1690635 bytes, checksum: 35ae8138d7942712200eb8662fa2812e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-06-25 / Pollination is presented as a determining factor in the production of fruits in various fruit species, especially those that do not reproduce by parthenocarpy. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of self-pollination and cross-pollination of jelly palm in production and fruit quality. To this end, we used 14 genotypes of jelly palm of BAG of FAEM-UFPel, RS, Brazil. The treatments were: non-bagging (T1) and bagging with TNT (T2). Evaluated: average production cycle (days), average fruit weight (g), the average mass of pulp (g), pulp yield (%), average mass of pyrenes (g), number of fruits, equatorial diameter of fruits (EDF), longitudinal diameter of fruits (LDF), equatorial diameter of pyrenes (EDP), longitudinal diameter of pyrenes (LDP), relationship LDF/EDF, relationship LDP/EDP, amount of juice (ml), average number of almonds/pyrene (NA/P), almonds brocade/pyrene (%AB/P), average mass unitarian of almonds (AMUA), without almonds pyrenes (%WAP), skin colorimetry (°Hue), soluble solids (°Brix), titratable acidity (TA) ratio (SS/TA), juice pH, ascorbic acid (mg.100ml-1 juice), average date of flowering (DF) and average date of harvest (H). Self-pollination of jelly palm caused a reduction of the overall rates in the variables average mass of fruit, fruit number, EDP, NA/P, %AB/P, TA and ascorbic acid, significantly increased the average mass of pulp, relationship LDF/EDF , relationship LDP/EDP, amount of juice (ml), AMUA, % PSA, SS, ratio and pulp yield (%). It was concluded that the bagging of clusters of jelly palm cause declines, in the production, of 49.31%. However, leads to improvement in the quality of the fruit. The fruits that have been deprived of cross-pollination resulted in increased pulp yield (2.87%). The cross-pollination is essential in genotypes G. 32, G. 35, G. 57 and G. 63, without it there is no fruit production. / A polinização apresenta-se como fator determinante na produção de frutos em várias espécies de fruteiras, em especial naquelas que não se reproduzem por partenocarpia. Esta pesquisa objetivou avaliar a influência da autopolinização e da polinização cruzada de Butia odorata (Barb. Rodr.) Noblick & Lorenzi na produção e na qualidade do butiazeiro. Para tal, foram utilizados 14 genótipos de butiazeiros do banco ativo de germoplasma (BAG) da FAEM-UFPel. Os tratamentos utilizados foram: não-ensacamento (T1) e ensacamento com TNT (T2). Avaliou-se: ciclo médio de produção (dias), massa média dos frutos (g), massa média de polpa (g), rendimento de polpa (%), massa média dos pirênios (g), número de frutos, diâmetro equatorial dos frutos (DEF), diâmetro longitudinal dos frutos (DLF), diâmetro equatorial dos pirênios (DEP), diâmetro longitudinal dos pirênios (DLP), relação DLF/DEF, relação DLP/DEP, volume de suco (em ml), número médio de amêndoas/pirênio (NA/P), amêndoas brocadas/pirênio (%AB/P), massa média unitária de amêndoas (MMUA), pirênios sem amêndoas (%PSA), colorimetria da epiderme (°Hue), sólidos solúveis (°Brix), acidez titulável (AT), ratio (SS/AT), pH do suco, teor de ácido ascórbico (em mg de AA.100ml-1 suco), data média de floração (DMF em dd/mm/aa) e data média de colheita (DMC em dd/mm/aa). A autopolinização dos butiazeiros provocou redução dos índices gerais nas variáveis massa média dos frutos, número de frutos, DEP, NA/P, %AB/P, AT e ácido ascórbico; aumentou de forma significativa a massa média de polpa, relação DLF/DEF, DLP/DEP, volume de suco, MMUA, %PSA, SS, Ratio e rendimento de polpa. Concluiu-se que o ensacamento de cachos do butiazeiro diminui a produção em 49,31%, todavia, provoca melhoria na qualidade das frutas. As frutas que foram privadas da polinização cruzada resultaram em aumento do rendimento de polpa (2,87%). A polinização cruzada é fundamental nos genótipos G. 32, G. 35, G. 57 e G. 63, sem a qual não há produção de frutas.

Agriculture uses several options to increase and conservation of the yields. The tomato cultivation is a typically traditional and fragile crop in which is used many synthetic products that cause damages to both environment and human health. To minimize the use of these products some mechanisms are adopted such as pollination. The variety of pollinators depend on the flower structure, in the case of S. lycopersicum., as other solanaceaes, and it is need flower vibration for the pollen drop. This vibration and the exclusive production of pollen determine the type of visitant of tomato flowers. To aim knowing the pollinators of tomato flowers, the differences between traditional and organic cultivation and the associated vegetation, it was collected visitant insects between March and November 2008 in the municipality of Itabaiana and Areia Branca, Sergipe state. It was collected 327 insects belonging to five orders. The Hymenoptera Order was the dominant taxon in which effective pollinators through buzz pollination was observed. Other visitants were considered as non-effective because they did not perform the buzz vibration; some causes damages the flowers during food searching. Among hymenopterans it was found: Anthophoridae; Apidae; Chalcididae; Eumeninae; Formicidae; Scollidae; Sphecidae; Halictidae; Vespidae; Coleopteras: Chrysomelidae, Carabidae e Coccinelidae. Among the Diptera Order: Ascilidae, Bibionidae, Syrphidae, Muscidae e Tabanidae. The representant of the Lepidoptera Order: Licaenidae, Nymphalidae e Papilonidae. The insect families of the Orthoptera Order were: Romaleidae e Tettigonidae, and Hemiptera Order were: Pentatomidae, Scutelaridae e Coreidae. The associated surrounding vegetation was respectively characterized the planting of other species (mostly coriander) or gramineae in traditional and organic tomato crops. The abundance and diversity of insect visitants in organic crops was greater than the higher in traditional crops. / A agricultura utiliza várias opções para o aumento e conservação da produção e redução das perdas. A cultura do tomateiro, por sua fragilidade, é realizada com base em muitos produtos sintéticos, que causam prejuízos ao meio ambiente e à saúde humana. Para minimizar o uso destes produtos durante a produção, alguns mecanismos são empregados, como a polinização, realizada de forma programada ou natural. A variedade de polinizadores depende da estrutura floral, no caso de S. lycopersicum, como nas demais solanáceas, é necessária a vibração das flores para a liberação do pólen. Essa vibração e a exclusiva produção de pólen determinam o tipo de visitante dos tomateiros. Objetivando conhecer os polinizadores, as diferenciações entre os cultivos orgânicos e tradicionais, e a vegetação associada as plantações foram realizadas coletas dos visitantes florais e da vegetação entre os meses de março e novembro de 2008, em propriedades agrícolas das cidades de Itabaiana e Areia Branca Sergipe. Foram coletados 327 insetos de cinco ordens, sendo Hymenoptera o grupo dominante, onde estão os polinizadores efetivos das flores do tomate, que são abelhas capazes de realizar a vibração chamada buzz pollination. Os outros visitantes se aproximam dos cultivos em busca de alimentos, mas não realizam esse movimento, logo não são considerados polinizadores eficazes, alguns até destroem as flores na busca pelo alimento. Dentre os himenópteros estão as famílias: Anthophoridae; Apidae; Chalcididae; Eumeninae; Formicidae; Scollidae; Sphecidae; Halictidae; Vespidae; coleópteros: Chrysomelidae, Cara bidae e Coccinelidae; dípteros: Ascilidae, Bibionidae, Syrphidae, Muscidae e Tabanidae; lepidópteos: Licaenidae, Nymphalidae e Papilonidae; ortópteros: Romaleidae e Tettigonidae; hemípteros: Pentatomidae, Scutelaridae e Coreidae. Já na vegetação coletada no entorno dos cultivos de tomate ou foram encontrados outros cultivos como a produção de coentro muito comum na região, ou prevaleceram algumas gramíneas, sendo maior a variedade nas orgânicas. Quanto à diferenciação em relação aos insetos é observada uma maior abundância e diversidade de visitantes nas propriedades orgânicas do que nas tradicionais.