Kishi Shigeki, Tawaratsumida Tomoya, Tanaka Yoshihiro, Kamo Tsunashi, Hiraiwa Masayoshi K, Nikkeshi Aoi
Research Center for Agricultural Information Technology, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Kagoshima Prefectural Institute for Agricultural Development, Minamisatsuma, Kagoshima, Japan.
J Econ Entomol. 2025 Aug 29;118(4):1519-1526. doi: 10.1093/jee/toaf138.
Bitter gourd, Momordica charantia L. (Cucurbitales: Cucurbitaceae), is a major vegetable crop in tropical and subtropical regions. Honeybees are considered the primary pollinators of bitter gourd, but they often favor male flowers, which offer nectar and pollen rewards, over female flowers, which do not. This preference can lead to pollination deficiency in bitter gourd. Therefore, exploring alternative pollinators for bitter gourd is crucial to ensure efficient pollination and optimal fruit production, especially in greenhouse settings where honeybee pollination may be less effective. We investigated the pollination efficiency of diurnal hawkmoths and compared it with that of honeybees, bumblebees, and small bees. Our findings revealed that hawkmoths exhibit equal visitation rates to both male and female bitter gourd flowers and deposit a significantly greater number of pollen grains per visit than those bees. This high pollination efficiency, combined with their nonselective flower visitation behavior, makes hawkmoths a promising alternative pollinator for bitter gourd. Our results suggest that hawkmoths could be effective pollinator agents for bitter gourd, especially in greenhouse settings. This discovery opens up new possibilities for sustainable agriculture and could lead to improved pollination strategies for bitter gourd and other cucurbit crops.
苦瓜，学名苦瓜（Momordica charantia L.）（葫芦目：葫芦科），是热带和亚热带地区的主要蔬菜作物。蜜蜂被认为是苦瓜的主要传粉者，但它们通常更喜欢有花蜜和花粉回报的雄花，而不是没有这些的雌花。这种偏好会导致苦瓜授粉不足。因此，探索苦瓜的替代传粉者对于确保有效授粉和最佳果实产量至关重要，特别是在蜜蜂授粉可能效果较差的温室环境中。我们研究了白天活动的天蛾的授粉效率，并将其与蜜蜂、大黄蜂和小蜜蜂的授粉效率进行了比较。我们的研究结果表明，天蛾对苦瓜雄花和雌花的访花率相同，且每次访花时所携带的花粉粒数量比那些蜜蜂多得多。这种高授粉效率，再加上它们不挑花的访花行为，使天蛾成为苦瓜有前景的替代传粉者。我们的结果表明，天蛾可能是苦瓜有效的传粉媒介，特别是在温室环境中。这一发现为可持续农业开辟了新的可能性，并可能带来改进的苦瓜和其他葫芦科作物的授粉策略。
