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Flower Visitors, Levels of Cross-Fertilisation, and Pollen-Parent Effects on Fruit Quality in Mango Orchards2.68 MB
Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access
Journal article
Flower Visitors, Levels of Cross-Fertilisation, and Pollen-Parent Effects on Fruit Quality in Mango Orchards
Agronomy, Vol.13(10), pp.1-13
2023
Abstract
Pollination is essential for the reproductive output of crops. Anthropogenic disturbance and global pollinator decline limit pollination success, reducing the quantity or quality of pollen. Relationships between the abundance of flower visitors and fruit production are often poorly understood. We aimed to (1) identify and quantify flower visitors in a mango orchard; (2) assess how much of the crop resulted from self-versus cross-pollination at increasing distances from a cross-pollen source in large, single-cultivar blocks of the cultivar Kensington Pride or the cultivar Calypso; and (3) determine how pollen parentage affected the size, colour, flavour attributes, and nutritional quality of fruit. Mango flowers were mostly visited by rhiniid flies and coccinellid beetles. Approximately 30% of the fruit were the result of cross-pollination, with the percentage significantly decreasing with an increasing distance from a cross-pollen source in the cultivar Calypso. Self-pollinated Calypso fruit were slightly larger and heavier, with higher acid and total polyphenol concentrations than cross-pollinated fruit. Our results showed higher-than-expected levels of cross-fertilisation among fruit, although self-pollen was likely more abundant than cross-pollen in the large orchard blocks. Our results suggest the preferential cross-fertilisation of flowers or the preferential retention of cross-fertilised fruitlets, both representing strategies for circumventing inbreeding depression. Growers should establish vegetated habitats to support pollinator populations and interplant cultivars more closely to maximise cross-pollen transfer.
Details
- Title
- Flower Visitors, Levels of Cross-Fertilisation, and Pollen-Parent Effects on Fruit Quality in Mango Orchards
- Authors
- Wiebke Kaemper (Corresponding Author) - Griffith UniversityJoel Nichols (Author) - University of GöttingenTrong Tran (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringChristopher J. Burwell (Author) - Griffith UniversityScott Byrnes (Author) - Griffith UniversityStephen Trueman (Author) - Griffith University
- Publication details
- Agronomy, Vol.13(10), pp.1-13
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Date published
- 2023
- DOI
- 10.3390/agronomy13102568
- ISSN
- 2073-4395
- Copyright note
- This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Data Availability
- The data presented in this study are available upon request from the corresponding author and with the permission of Hort Innovation.
- Grant note
- PH16001 / Hort Innovation Griffith University University of the Sunshine Coast Plant & Food Research Ltd Australian Government
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; GeneCology Research Centre - Legacy; School of Science, Technology and Engineering; Centre for Bioinnovation
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99971195002621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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