South Middlesex Times

A team of researchers led by Rutgers University-New Brunswick scientists has analyzed crop yields from over 1,500 fields on six continents and found that the production of essential, nutritionally dense foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes is being limited by a lack of pollinators.

The results, detailed in Nature Ecology & Evolution, showed that across diverse crops and locations, one-third to two-thirds of farms contain fields that aren’t producing at optimal levels due to insufficient pollination. This phenomenon is known as pollinator limitation.

“Our findings are a cause for concern and optimism,” said Katie Turo, an author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources in the Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. “We did detect widespread yield deficits. However, we also estimate that through continued investment in pollinator management and research, it is likely that we can improve the efficiency of our existing crop fields to meet the nutritional needs of our global population.”

The scientists reached their conclusions by conducting a statistical analysis of more than 200,000 “bee visitations” to crop flowers within one of the most comprehensive databases on crop pollination globally. Rachael Winfree, the senior author on the study and a professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, collaborated with colleagues from Europe and South America to compile this extensive database incorporating three decades of field observations.

The recent Rutgers study does not apply to major food crops like rice and wheat which do not require pollinators for reproduction. However, pollination by bees and other animals is critical for nutrient-dense foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes.

“If you look through a list of crops and think about which fruits and vegetables you’re most excited to eat—like summer berries or apples and pumpkins in the fall—those are the crops that typically need to be pollinated by insects,” Turo said.

Pollination involves transferring pollen from the male part of a flower to its female part enabling fertilization which produces seeds, fruits, and young plants. Pollen can be moved by wind, water or pollinators such as honeybees, wild bees, other insects or animals like bats.

Pollinators support about 88 percent of the world's flowering plants' reproduction and 76 percent of leading global food crops according to previous research by Winfree. Bees are considered highly effective pollinators because they visit more flowers carrying substantial amounts of pollen compared to other insects.

Rutgers scientists identified blueberry, coffee and apple crops as frequently affected by pollinator limitation. Yield deficits were found for 25 unique crops across 85 percent of evaluated countries.

Turo noted that current yield deficits could potentially be remedied with realistic increases in pollinator visitation across individual crop fields. The study revealed some fields already had adequate bee visits; improving consistency across high- and low-yield fields could address many observed yield problems.

“The findings are significant because crop yields measure how much produce grows per unit area of land relevant for assessing world food supply adequacy relative to its population,” Winfree said. “Our findings show that by paying more attention to pollinators growers could make agricultural fields more productive.”

James Reilly from Rutgers’ Department of Ecology Evolution & Natural Resources was also an author on this study along with Ainhoa Magrach from Basque Centre for Climate Change Spain Thijs P.M Fijen from Wageningen University & Research Netherlands.