IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jagris/v12y2022i6p795-d828758.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Bumblebee Pollination Enhances Yield and Flavor of Tomato in Gobi Desert Greenhouses

Author

Listed:
  • Hong Zhang

    (Key Laboratory for Insect-Pollinator Biology of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China)

  • Chao Han

    (Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China)

  • Tom D. Breeze

    (Centre for Agri-Environmental Research, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, Reading University, Reading RG6 6AH, UK)

  • Mengdan Li

    (Key Laboratory for Insect-Pollinator Biology of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China)

  • Shibonage K. Mashilingi

    (Key Laboratory for Insect-Pollinator Biology of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China)

  • Jun Hua

    (Cash-Crops Technology Extension Centre of Zhangye City, Zhangye 734000, China)

  • Wenbin Zhang

    (Cash-Crops Technology Extension Centre of Zhangye City, Zhangye 734000, China)

  • Xuebin Zhang

    (Cash-Crops Technology Extension Centre of Gansu Province, Lanzhou 730030, China)

  • Shiwen Zhang

    (Gansu Institute of Apiculture, Tianshui 741020, China)

  • Jiandong An

    (Key Laboratory for Insect-Pollinator Biology of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China)

Abstract

Bumblebee pollination is crucial to the production of tomato in protected cultivation. Both tomato yield and flavor play important roles in attracting attentions from growers and consumers. Compared with yield, much less work has been conducted to investigate whether and how pollination methods affect tomato flavor. In this study, the effects of bumblebee pollination, vibrator treatment, and plant growth regulator (PGR) treatment on tomato yield and flavor were tested in Gobi Desert greenhouses. Compared with vibrator or PGR treatments, bumblebee pollinated tomato had higher and more stable fruit set, heavier fruit weight, and more seed. We also found that the seed quantity positively correlated with fruit weight in both bumblebee pollinated, and vibrator treated tomato, but not in PGR treated tomato. Besides enhancing yield, bumblebee pollination improved tomato flavor. Bumblebee pollinated tomato fruits contained more fructose and glucose, but less sucrose, citric acid, and malic acid. Furthermore, the volatile organic compounds of bumblebee pollinated tomato were distinctive with vibrator or PGR treated tomato, and more consumer liking related compounds were identified in bumblebee pollinated tomato. Our findings provide new insights into the contributions of bee pollinator towards improving crop yield and quality, emphasizing the importance of bumblebee for tomato pollination.

Suggested Citation

  • Hong Zhang & Chao Han & Tom D. Breeze & Mengdan Li & Shibonage K. Mashilingi & Jun Hua & Wenbin Zhang & Xuebin Zhang & Shiwen Zhang & Jiandong An, 2022. "Bumblebee Pollination Enhances Yield and Flavor of Tomato in Gobi Desert Greenhouses," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-15, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:12:y:2022:i:6:p:795-:d:828758
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/12/6/795/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/12/6/795/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Winfree, Rachael & Gross, Brian J. & Kremen, Claire, 2011. "Valuing pollination services to agriculture," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 80-88.
    2. Gallai, Nicola & Salles, Jean-Michel & Settele, Josef & Vaissière, Bernard E., 2009. "Economic valuation of the vulnerability of world agriculture confronted with pollinator decline," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 810-821, January.
    3. Nishimura, Takeshi, 2021. "The Effect of Greenhouse Pollination Methods on Consumers’ Willingness to Pay for Tomatoes in Japan," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 53(2), pages 186-208, May.
    4. Gallai, Nicola & Salles, Jean-Michel & Settele, Josef & Vaissière, Bernard E., 2009. "Economic valuation of the vulnerability of world agriculture confronted with pollinator decline," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 810-821, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Lippert, Christian & Feuerbacher, Arndt & Narjes, Manuel, 2021. "Revisiting the economic valuation of agricultural losses due to large-scale changes in pollinator populations," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    2. Basualdo, Marina & Cavigliasso, Pablo & de Avila, Rubem Samuel & Aldea-Sánchez, Patricia & Correa-Benítez, Adriana & Harms, Jaime Martínez & Ramos, Ana Karen & Rojas-Bravo, Valeska & Salvarrey, Sheena, 2022. "Current status and economic value of insect-pollinated dependent crops in Latin America," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    3. Tremlett, Constance J. & Peh, Kelvin S.-H. & Zamora-Gutierrez, Veronica & Schaafsma, Marije, 2021. "Value and benefit distribution of pollination services provided by bats in the production of cactus fruits in central Mexico," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    4. Hanley, Nick & Breeze, Tom D. & Ellis, Ciaran & Goulson, David, 2015. "Measuring the economic value of pollination services: Principles, evidence and knowledge gaps," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 14(C), pages 124-132.
    5. Melathopoulos, Andony P. & Cutler, G. Christopher & Tyedmers, Peter, 2015. "Where is the value in valuing pollination ecosystem services to agriculture?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 59-70.
    6. Aliz Feketéné Ferenczi & Isván Szűcs & Andrea Bauerné Gáthy, 2023. "Evaluation of the Pollination Ecosystem Service of the Honey Bee ( Apis mellifera ) Based on a Beekeeping Model in Hungary," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-14, June.
    7. Fleischer, Aliza & Shafir, Sharoni & Mandelik, Yael, 2013. "A proactive approach for assessing alternative management programs for an invasive alien pollinator species," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 126-132.
    8. Breeze, T.D. & Bailey, A.P. & Potts, S.G. & Balcombe, K.G., 2015. "A stated preference valuation of the non-market benefits of pollination services in the UK," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 76-85.
    9. Rafaella Guimarães Porto & Rita Fernandes Almeida & Oswaldo Cruz-Neto & Marcelo Tabarelli & Blandina Felipe Viana & Carlos A. Peres & Ariadna Valentina Lopes, 2020. "Pollination ecosystem services: A comprehensive review of economic values, research funding and policy actions," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(6), pages 1425-1442, December.
    10. Bauer, Dana Marie & Sue Wing, Ian, 2016. "The macroeconomic cost of catastrophic pollinator declines," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 1-13.
    11. R. David Simpson, 2019. "Conservation Incentives from an Ecosystem Service: How Much Farmland Might Be Devoted to Native Pollinators?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 73(2), pages 661-678, June.
    12. Qin Liu & Pei Xu & Kun Yan & Yingman Guo, 2019. "Pollination Services from Insects in Homegardens in the Chengdu Plain will be Confronted with Crises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-15, April.
    13. Mwebaze, Paul & Marris, Gay C. & Brown, Mike & MacLeod, Alan & Jones, Glyn & Budge, Giles E., 2018. "Measuring public perception and preferences for ecosystem services: A case study of bee pollination in the UK," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 355-362.
    14. Balzan, Mario V & Caruana, Julio & Zammit, Annrica, 2018. "Assessing the capacity and flow of ecosystem services in multifunctional landscapes: Evidence of a rural-urban gradient in a Mediterranean small island state," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 711-725.
    15. Smith, Helen F. & Sullivan, Caroline A., 2014. "Ecosystem services within agricultural landscapes—Farmers' perceptions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 72-80.
    16. Kathrin Stenchly & Marc Victor Hansen & Katharina Stein & Andreas Buerkert & Wilhelm Loewenstein, 2018. "Income Vulnerability of West African Farming Households to Losses in Pollination Services: A Case Study from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-12, November.
    17. Grazia Zulian & Joachim Maes & Maria Luisa Paracchini, 2013. "Linking Land Cover Data and Crop Yields for Mapping and Assessment of Pollination Services in Europe," Land, MDPI, vol. 2(3), pages 1-21, September.
    18. Luciano Pilati & Vasco Boatto, 2014. "Jointness in Sites: The Case of Migratory Beekeeping," DEM Discussion Papers 2014/10, Department of Economics and Management.
    19. Nicholas W Calderone, 2012. "Insect Pollinated Crops, Insect Pollinators and US Agriculture: Trend Analysis of Aggregate Data for the Period 1992–2009," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(5), pages 1-27, May.
    20. Soy-Massoni, Emma & Langemeyer, Johannes & Varga, Diego & Sáez, Marc & Pintó, Josep, 2016. "The importance of ecosystem services in coastal agricultural landscapes: Case study from the Costa Brava, Catalonia," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 43-52.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:12:y:2022:i:6:p:795-:d:828758. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.