SCIENTIFIC BRIEF
Professional summary of Jailyang et al. (2022), Scientia Horticulturae 295, 110869.
KEY MESSAGE
Kiwifruit flowers provide negligible nectar and are comparatively unattractive to honey bees. In this study, bee-attractant treatments significantly increased bee activity and were associated with improvements in seed set, fruit size, weight and quality compared with the untreated control.
Why this study matters
Kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) is dioecious: male and female flowers occur on separate plants, so effective cross-pollination is essential for commercial fruit production. The authors identify a practical limitation of bee-mediated pollination in kiwifruit: nectar availability in the flowers is negligible, reducing their attractiveness to honey bees. The study therefore evaluated whether attractants could increase bee visitation and improve pollination-related fruit outcomes.
