ISHS Acta Horticulturae 175: Symposium on Physiology of Productivity of Subtropical and Tropical Tree Fruits
INSECT POLLINATION OF AVOCADO AND MACADAMIA |
| Author: | H.I.M.V. Vithanage |
| Abstract:
Pollination which leads to fertilization determines the success of fruit formation in most outbreeding fruit crops, including avocado and macadamia. With such crops lack of pollination can seriously limit fruit formation and improvement of pollination could bring about an increased crop production. Although flowers of both these crops are hermaphrodites they exhibit a temporal separation of sexes. In avocado the pistil matures ahead of the pollen and this condition is called protogynous dichogamy. Presence of complementary flower types (A and B) in different varieties allow cross pollination to occur. In macadamia, the reverse situation, protandry, operates where the pollen matures ahead of the pistil. These special mechanisms of flower opening dictate the need for outside pollinators to bring about pollen transfer. A vast array of insect species forage on these two crop plants. The majority of them belong to the Orders Hymenoptera (bees & wasps) and Diptera (flies). The relative importance of these different pollinators to the respective crops has been assessed by comparing the quantity of pollen carried per unit time, which incorporates both the amount of pollen that they carry and the frequency of visitation. This factor is used as a "pollinator index" in assessing the relative importance of these insects to avocado and macadamia pollination. | |
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