BioOne.org will be down briefly for maintenance on 17 December 2024 between 18:00-22:00 Pacific Time US. We apologize for any inconvenience.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 July 2012 Berry unexpected: Nocturnal pollination of lowbush blueberry
G. Christopher Cutler, Kevin W. Reeh, Jason M. Sproule, Krilen Ramanaidu
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Cutler, C. G., Reeh, K. W., Sproule, J. M. and Ramanaidu, K. 2012. Berry unexpected: Nocturnal pollination of lowbush blueberry. Can. J. Plant Sci. 92: 707-711. Lowbush blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium, is an economically important crop of eastern North America that is critically dependent on insect-mediated cross-pollination for successful fruit set and high yields. It is generally assumed that bees are responsible for the vast majority of lowbush blueberry pollination, and producers usually augment the natural pollination force with managed bees. Little is known, however, of the potential role of nocturnal pollinators in lowbush blueberry production. We conducted a field experiment where patches of blooming blueberry were exposed to flying insects 24 h a day, only during the day (sunrise to sunset), only at night (sunset to sunrise), or 0 h a day. We found that significant fruit set occurred on blueberry stems that were exposed only at night, although it was higher on stems exposed during the day or 24 h a day. However, ripe fruit produced on stems exposed only at night weighed just as much as those exposed 24 h. Captures with Malaise traps activated only at night consisted mainly of several families of Lepidoptera and Diptera, although we do not know if these taxa pollinated blueberries. We conclude that nocturnal pollination may contribute significantly to lowbush blueberry fruit set.

G. Christopher Cutler, Kevin W. Reeh, Jason M. Sproule, and Krilen Ramanaidu "Berry unexpected: Nocturnal pollination of lowbush blueberry," Canadian Journal of Plant Science 92(4), 707-711, (1 July 2012). https://doi.org/10.1139/CJPS2011-205
Received: 3 February 2012; Accepted: 1 March 2012; Published: 1 July 2012
JOURNAL ARTICLE
5 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

KEYWORDS
berry yield
fruit set
insectes nocturnes
nocturnal insects
nouaison
pollination
pollinisation
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top