Sustainable Management of Orchard Pollination Services

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Insect pollination is essential for apple production, improving yield, fruit quality and market value. Pollination deficits in excess of £6,000/ha in UK dessert apple orchards have been identified, so significant economic returns by improving pollination services could be made. Research shows that the majority of apple pollination services are provided by a few species of wild bees. The aim of this project is to design and test three interventions to enhance the effectiveness of wild pollinators of orchards.

Pollinisers are trees grown in orchards providing a viable pollen source for the commercial trees, but do not contribute to production. Currently the numbers and locations of pollinisers in orchards uses a 'rule of thumb'. The optimum number and spatial distribution of polliniser trees in orchards will be tested in field trial manipulations.

Floral strips benefit pollinators and enhancing wild bee nesting habitat can locally enhance bee numbers. We will "engineer" the optimal floral composition of flower strips, based on morphology and flowering time, to develop and test flower margins specifically targeted at apple pollinators. In tandem, ground nesting bee habitat will be created to test effects on pollinators and pollination service. Impact of these interventions, individually and in combination, on pollinators and pollination services will be tested in a large scale field trial.

Bio-economic analysis of these interventions will be undertaken utilising a production function method linking management and habitat quality parameters to pollination services as well a portfolio analyses developing spatially explicit management portfolios for growers. Findings will be disseminated through our industrial partners and then to the wider grower community and more broadly through policy benefitting top-fruit production across the UK by promoting cost effective wild pollinator management strategies increasing production quality and stable yields.

The impact of this research will be far-reaching and findings from the project will directly benefit growers and inform policy decision making, with resulting benefits for the consumer and the general public.

GROWERS:
The value of insect pollination to UK agriculture is estimated to be £691M p.a. (2011), with the value to apples alone estimated at £95M. The direct involvement and financial support of Avalon Produce, Worldwide Fruit and Syngenta in this IPA project reflects their interest in the outcomes and they have been involved through the proposal development process. Production loss of more than £6000/ha due to sub-optimal pollination have been identified in some apple orchards. Addressing this pollination gap, based on finding from this proposal will have real financial implication for the 100's of apple growers in the UK. Furthermore, effective management to improve crop pollination services will increase the resilience of production to environmental change and particularly climate change. Stable fruit yield and quality year to year is a key requirement for apple producers and addressing this issue will have a real positive impact on UK apple growers. Factoring ecosystem services such as crop pollination into farmer portfolio risk analysis presents a real step forward in the way growers think about managing such ecosystem based services. Increasing grower understanding and appreciation of managing wider biodiversity on farmland using techniques developed by this proposal will benefit crop production and wider ecosystem health.

POLICY MAKERS:
Findings from this project will provide evidence to help shape UK policy, particularly in areas of sustainable food production and CAP Countryside Stewardship schemes. Effective pollinator management strategies and an improved understanding of how creating optimised forage and nesting habitat benefit pollinator communities in agricultural landscapes, integrated into countryside policy will improve the effectiveness of Stewardship Schemes. This will increase the positive impacts these schemes can provide by boosting crop pollination services but also supporting wild pollinator communities of conservation concern, both key objectives of Defra's National Pollinator Strategy.

GENERAL PUBLIC:
Pollinators provide essential services underpinning production of high value, nutritious, locally produced products. Evidence from this project will help support sustainable management of pollination services in the UK, ensuring a more stable supply of quality produce which will feedback through the supply chain and benefit consumers. Furthermore, the public has an increasing awareness of the links between pollinators and food production and our outreach and extension work will look to further the public's understanding of the importance of wild pollinators. Our project will enable grower to produce crops in a more sustainable way by supporting wild pollinators while simultaneously reducing their dependence on other agricultural inputs. Our industrial partners directly supply all major UK food retailers including Waitrose, M&S, Tesco, Asda, Co-Op, Aldi, Lidl, Morrisons and Sainsbury's, so a huge number of consumers buying these products can be sure of better sustainability and providence of UK top fruit supply.