Abstract
Animal pollination is a fundamental ecosystem service for global agricultural production, influencing the nutritional and commercial properties of fruits and seeds. Given the loss of pollinators worldwide and the consequent decline in agricultural production, generating and disseminating data on the influence of pollination on agricultural production is essential to promoting sustainable agriculture and global food security. The objective of this study is to present results regarding the influence of pollination on the production of ten Brazilian crops widely cultivated worldwide (vegetables and coffee), delving into approaches commonly used in agricultural pollination studies. Our hypotheses were: 1) Bees are the main pollinators; 2) Insect visitation improves production in terms of quantity and quality. Data were collected in the field (controlled pollination, pollinator observation) and in the laboratory (assessment of dimensions and chemical profiles of fruits and seeds). Bees were the main pollinators, but other groups were also observed (Diptera, Lepidoptera). There was considerable variation in the responses observed among agricultural crops: some showed no response to the presence of pollinators, while crops that responded showed improvements in the number and/or size of fruits and/or seeds, as well as changes in antioxidant compounds. Thus, our results supported the first hypothesis, and only partially the second. Our data show that pollinators can improve production quantity and quality even in autogamous species, reinforcing the need for conservation and the possibility of pollinator management for satisfactory agricultural production.
Presenters
Cibele CastroProfessor, Agronomy, Universidade Federal do Agreste de Pernambuco, Pernambuco, Brazil
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2026 Special Focus—Unseen Unsustainability: Addressing Hidden Risks to Long-Term Wellbeing for All
KEYWORDS
Crop, Pollination
