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About one-third of the world’s food production is pollinated by animals. However, not much study has been done on how the identity of pollinators, pollen, and crop varieties affect the nutritional, sensory, and commercial value of fruits. The way pollinators move around farms and the kinds of plants they visit have an effect on the quality of the crops they visit.
Researchers from the University of Göttingen write in Trends in Plant Science that promoting all pollinators has been too much of a focus so far, putting plant quality at risk. Plant quality could be improved by looking at how different pollinator species behave and how different crop varieties are spread out in the field.
About two thirds of the world’s most important foods depend on animal pollination, which is worth several hundred billion US dollars every year. More than 90% of the vitamin C we eat comes from foods that rely on animal pollinators, like many fruits, nuts, and pulses. These foods also contain carotenoids, antioxidants, and other nutrients that are good for us. Bees, for example, make rapeseed healthier by increasing the amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids and overall oil in it. They also make avocados healthier by increasing the amount of oil and fruit weight.
The University of Göttingen research team stresses how important it is to pay attention to the specific species of pollinators, the type of crop, and the pollen that is transferred, as well as how this network affects the quality of the fruit. If the plants are moved or the pollinators change how they behave, pollen transfer between types may not work. So, the quality of the crop relies on not only what kinds of pollinators are present and how many of them there are, but also how the different species interact with each other in space and time.
The analysis shows that future studies should pay more attention to the quality of the crops rather than just how many there are. It’s clear that a better mix of nutrients is good for people’s health.
As part of this, cross-pollination should be encouraged by looking at the different types of food plants and the quality of the pollen. It is also important to compare the quality of self-pollinated and cross-pollinated types and make sure that the cultivated areas and surrounding landscape are set up in a way that makes it easy for pollinators to move around.
Sources:
Teja Tscharntke et al. (2024). Pollinator, pollen, and cultivar identity drive crop quality, Trends in Plant Science. DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2024.10.004
https://phys.org/news/2025-01-peculiarities-crop-pollinator-interactions-boost.html
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