Bergonzoli Simone, Romano Elio, Beni Claudio, Latterini Francesco, Lo Scalzo Roberto, Scarfone Antonio
Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l'Analisi dell'Economia Agraria (CREA), Centro di Ricerca Ingegneria e Trasformazioni Agroalimentari, Via della Pascolare 15, 00015 Monterotondo, Italy.
Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l'Analisi dell'Economia Agraria (CREA), Centro di Ricerca Ingegneria e Trasformazioni Agroalimentari, Via Milano 43, 24047 Treviglio, Italy.
Insects. 2022 Aug 9;13(8):717. doi: 10.3390/insects13080717.
Nectar is a complex biochemical substance secreted with particular rhythm by flower nectaries. Nectar is the base of a mutualism in which pollinators consume nectar, as food source, and are involuntarily responsible for the transport of pollen and pollination. The dynamics and temporal patterns of nectar secretion are still not fully understood as well as the environmental and climatic factors influencing its production. The quantity and quality of nectar found in standing crops at flowering influence the mutualistic relationship with pollinators and their foraging behavior. This situation is even more significant considering the reduction in undisturbed environments, the loss of soil quality, the spread of monoculture agricultural management and the use of self-fertile hybrids. The objects of the study are understanding the relationship among soil properties and nectar quality, comparing the nectar composition in a sunflower hybrid variety and evaluate pollinator preferences in selecting nectar sources among hybrid and non-hybrid varieties. For these purposes, two different experimental tests were established. Results highlighted that fertilization strategy influenced crop biomass development, determined soil characteristics and nectar composition in Sunflower. However, when comparing nectar composition of hybrid and non-hybrid varieties of sunflower, no significant differences were found. Despite this, the analysis of number of visits on the two treatments showed statistically significant differences. This research provides further understanding of the very complex relationship among soil, crop and nectar to support the definition of agricultural management strategies and reach the optimal nectar composition level for pollinators in agricultural crops.
花蜜是花的蜜腺以特定节律分泌的一种复杂生化物质。花蜜是一种互利共生关系的基础，在这种关系中，传粉者将花蜜作为食物来源消耗，并且不自觉地负责花粉的传播和授粉。花蜜分泌的动态和时间模式以及影响其产生的环境和气候因素仍未完全被理解。花期时现存作物中的花蜜数量和质量会影响与传粉者的互利关系及其觅食行为。考虑到未受干扰环境的减少、土壤质量的丧失、单一栽培农业管理的蔓延以及自花授粉杂交品种的使用，这种情况就更加显著。本研究的目的是了解土壤性质与花蜜质量之间的关系，比较向日葵杂交品种中的花蜜成分，并评估传粉者在杂交品种和非杂交品种中选择花蜜来源时的偏好。为了这些目的，建立了两项不同的实验测试。结果表明，施肥策略影响作物生物量的发育，决定了向日葵的土壤特性和花蜜成分。然而，比较向日葵杂交品种和非杂交品种的花蜜成分时，未发现显著差异。尽管如此，对两种处理的访花次数分析显示出统计学上的显著差异。这项研究进一步加深了对土壤、作物和花蜜之间非常复杂关系的理解，以支持农业管理策略的定义，并达到农作物中传粉者最佳花蜜成分水平。
