The results of a three-year study the self-fertility 15 varieties highbush blueberry and one variety lowbush are presented. fruiting indicators (berry setting, average berry weight, number seeds per berry) in case most self-pollinating varieties, as rule, lower than with natural cross-pollination. In accordance fruit set during self-pollination flowers, ranked into five groups corresponding to ...

Pollination improves the yield of most crop species and contributes to one-third of global crop production, but comprehensive benefits including crop quality are still unknown. Hence, pollination is underestimated by international policies, which is particularly alarming in times of agricultural intensification and diminishing pollination services. In this study, exclusion experiments with stra...

BACKGROUND In many plant species, pollination syndromes predict the most effective pollinator. However, other floral visitors may also offer effective pollination services and promote mixed pollination systems. Several species of the species-rich Penstemon (Plantaginaceae) exhibit a suite of floral traits that suggest adaptation for pollination by both hymenopterans and hummingbirds. Transition...

4.11.1 Ecological Interactions 118 4.11.1.1 Pollination Services 118 4.11.1.2 Sensitivity/Vulnerability of Pollination Services 119 4.11.1.2.1 Temporal Mismatch 119 4.11.1.2.2 Spatial Mismatch 120 4.11.1.2.3 Alteration of Pollinator Networks 121 4.11.1.2.4 Simulated Biodiversity Loss or Phenological Mismatch 121 4.11.1.2.5 Network Comparison Post Habitat-Alteration 122 4.11.2 Ecosystem Service ...

Numerous studies have examined the evolution of sexual systems in angiosperms, but few explore the interaction between these and the evolution of pollination mode. Wind pollination is often associated with unisexual flowers, but which evolved first and played a causative role in the evolution of the other is unclear. Thalictrum, meadow-rues (Ranunculaceae), provides a unique opportunity to stud...

The ultimate causes of evolution of highly specialized pollination systems are little understood. We investigated the relationship between specialization and pollination efficiency, defined as the proportion of pollinated flowers relative to those that experienced pollen removal, using orchids with different pollination strategies as a model system. Rewarding orchids showed the highest pollinat...

Wind pollination is predominantly a derived condition in angiosperms and is thought to evolve in response to ecological conditions that render animal pollination less advantageous. However, the specific ecological and evolutionary mechanisms responsible for transitions from animal to wind pollination are poorly understood in comparison with other major reproductive transitions in angiosperms, i...

This study evaluated the effect of artificial pollination on pistachio trees in an orchard at a low ratio of male to female trees in Qazvin province, Iran, over the years 2012-2013. Experimental factors included three female cultivars (Akbari, Owhadi, Kalebozi) and three types of pollinizer (Control, GA, and GB) with three replications. In each female tree, two branches were selected in the nor...

Ecological restoration of plant-pollinator interactions has received surprisingly little attention, despite animal-mediated pollination underpinning reproduction of the majority of higher plants. Here, we offer a conceptual and practical framework for the ecological restoration of pollination mutualisms. Through the use of targeted restoration plantings to attract and sustain pollinators and in...