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Combined pollination and crop protection

could increase yields
ARTICLE MAY 2014

3 AUTHORS:
Peter Kevan

Carlos Hernan Vergara

University of Guelph

Universidad de las Americas Puebla

285 PUBLICATIONS 4,554 CITATIONS

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Breno Magalhes Freitas

Universidade Federal do Cear
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Available from: Peter Kevan

Retrieved on: 27 August 2015

34 Research & Development C&CI May 2014

Combined pollination and

crop protection could
increase yields
T
he first issue is to understand what
pollination is, how it contributes to
production and the importance of
managed and wild pollinating insects, in
the process. This article describes how
managed pollinators can be used to
deliver natural biological control agents to
flowering crops to suppress diseases and
insect pests.
Pollination is the transfer of pollen
grains from the male to the female parts of
the flower. Pollen has to be moved around
by either living agents (mainly insects) or
non-living forces (mainly wind). Insects,
and other animals that perform pollen
movements, are pollinators, and there are
four main insect pollinator groups: bees
and wasps, flies, butterflies and moths,
and beetles.

Experiments with caged

honeybees indicate that
yields may be almost
double those that result
from spontaneous
self-pollination
Pollination is fundamental for the
maintenance of the viability and diversity
of flowering plants and provides important
ecosystems services to human beings and
to wildlife. At a global scale, it is estimated
that about one-third of the human food is
obtained from plant species that depend
on insect pollinators to produce fruits and
seeds. Pollination services have been
valued at over 153 billion, and 9.5 per
cent of agricultural production each year.
Coffee has perfect flowers with
male and female parts. Robusta coffee
(Coffea canephora, sometimes called
Coffea robusta) and Arabica coffee
(Coffea arabica) are widespread, globally
important species. Robusta coffee prefers
low altitudes, growing in sites where
the more widespread Arabica will not
thrive. Robusta coffee is self-sterile. It

Can yields be improved, both in quantity and quality, by

combining pollination and crop protection in an integrated
technology? Carlos Vergara1, Peter Kevan2 and Breno
Freitas3 say they believe the answer is an emphatic yes
Coffee has perfect flowers;
Robusta is self-sterile, and requires
cross-pollination, whereas Arabica
coffee is self-fertile

requires cross-pollination and is believed

to be primarily wind-pollinated. Even so,
it benefits from bees for effective outcrossing and increased fruit set. On the
other hand, Arabica coffee is a self-fertile
species, and does not need crosspollination. However, it benefits from bees
for effective self-pollination, out-crossing
and increased fruit set. Experiments with
caged honeybees indicate that yields may
be almost double those that result from
spontaneous self-pollination. An added
value of insect pollination is that fruit
retention also seems to be enhanced by
out-crossing.

Wild pollinators

Introduction of exotic pollinators, mainly

the Western Honeybee, Apis mellifera L,
has been useful for increasing production
around the world. However, wild pollinators
may pollinate coffee, with even higher
efficiency than A. mellifera, and without

incurring economic costs. Studies on both

kinds of coffee have shown that the more
bees there are, the greater the yield and
the higher the quality of the cherries. Thus,
the closer to managed bee hives, and
the nearer to areas where wild pollinators
thrive, the greater the coffee crop yield and
quality. There are scientific reports from
throughout the coffee growing world in the
Americas, Asia, and Africa that all point to
an increase in yield, in quantity and quality,
in the range of 10-20 per cent.
So, although Arabica may not need
pollination to set fruit, one can ask how
much potential yield is being lost by not
paying attention to insect pollination?

Tackling pests
and disease

One can also ask about yield losses

caused by diseases and pests. It is
generally agreed in the coffee industry that

May 2014 C&CI Research & Development 35

pests and diseases are one of the most
important issues confronting growers.
A new technology, tested in Canada
on a number of crops, can reduce the
incidence of some diseases and pests
without application of pesticides and
simultaneously boost yields through
pollination. So, how does this technology
work and is it applicable to coffee
production?

Biovectoring could enhance

pollination and help tackle
pests and disease (photo:
Neil Palmer, CIAT)

Biocontrol vectoring

The technology referred to is managed

pollinator biocontrol agent vectoring
(known as BVT). Special dispensers
are placed at the exit/entrance of hives
of managed pollinators (honeybees
and bumblebees have both been used
successfully). The dispensers contain
specially formulated, naturally-occurring,
biological control agents that the
pollinators carry out of their hives to the
flowers they visit. When the pollinators
return to their hives, they enter by a
different route so as to not become redusted with bio-control agent. The system
has been tested with biological control
agents that suppress fungal and bacterial
diseases and others that help control pests
such as caterpillars, true bugs, aphids,
whitefly, and beetles.

Studies on both kinds of

coffee have shown that the
more bees there are, the
greater the yield and the
higher the quality of the
cherries

Why not coffee?

Most of the research and development

in Canada in suppressing plant diseases
has used the fungus Clonostachys rosea
against a wide variety of crop diseases,
including some that are the same as
or closely related to coffee pathogens.
For insect pests, fungal (Beauveria
bassiana), bacterial (Bt), and virus control
agents have been used. The crops that
have received biological protection and
pollination together have ranged from
apples and pears, small and tender fruit,
greenhouse tomatoes and peppers, and
oil seeds (sunflower and canola). So why
not coffee?

Laboratory tests have shown the

efficacy of various biological control
agents on coffee pests and diseases and
BVT technology has been used in coffee
plantations in a pioneering study by Jose
Vincente Urea in Ecuador. His team was
able to show significant reductions in
populations of coffee borer with honeybee
delivered B. bassiana.
The technology needs to be tested
more extensively on coffee for control of
coffee berry borer and other pests, and
against diseases such as Botrytis flower
blight and Colletrichum berry disease,
and some others, but probably not coffee
rust. The interdisciplinary and international
nature of the work requires collaboration
among large and small coffee producers,
beekeepers and honey producers around
coffee plantations.

Seeking support

A small grant from the International Union

of Biological Sciences (IUBS) is allowing
work to be initiated through the Arthur
Dobbs Institute (ADI, which has operations
in Canada, Mexico and Brazil). The
International Coffee Organisation (ICO)
helped with the presentation of a workshop
on the BVT biovectoring technology at the
meeting in Belo Horizonte in 2013. A team
of scientists has been assembled through
the International Commission for Plant
Pollinator Interactions (ICPPR) to go forward
with more research and development,
starting in 2014 in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia
and elsewhere.
More details of the technology can be
found in Kevan et al. (2008, 2014). The
workshop held with the ICO meetings in
Belo Horizonte is available on request
as a PDF as are the scientific and other

publication on the subject. The project

needs support from the coffee industry and
invites its members to make contact and
contribute through the ADI and/or the ICO.
Arthur Dobbs Institute (Mexico),
Jardn Etnobotnico Francisco Pelez R.,
2 sur #1700, 72810, San Andrs Cholula,
Puebla, Mxico.

Departamento de Ciencias QumicoBiolgicas, Escuela de Ciencias,

Universidad de las Amricas Puebla,
72810 Cholula, Puebla, Mexico.

Arthur Dobbs Institute, 106 Delhi St,

Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1E 4J8

Canadian Pollination Initiative, School

of Environmnetal Sciences, University of
Guelph, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1, Canada

Arthur Dobbs Institute (Brazil), Rua Fausto

Cabral, 920 - Apto. 501, Papicu, CEP
60175415, Fortaleza CE, Brazil

Universidade Federal do Cear,

Departamento de Zootecnia- CCA,
Campus Universitrio do Pici, Bloco 808,
CEP 60.356-000, Fortaleza CE, Brazil

Kevan, P. G., J.-P. Kapongo, M. Almazraawi and L. Shipp. 2008. Honey bees,
bumble bees, and biocontrol: New alliances
between old friends. In: Bee Pollination in
Agricultural Ecosystems (R. R. James and
T. L. Pitts-Singer (editors). Oxford University
Press, Oxford, UK. Chapter 5: pp. 65 79.
Kevan, P.G., L. Shipp and V. G. Thomas.
2014. Whats the buzz? Using pollinators
for crop protection. International Innovation
125: 9 11. C&CI