Strategies to optimise pollination of the UK field bean crop

Pollination is an essential part of the production of our food supply, with approximately one third
of our food resulting from animal insect pollination. Ensuring an adequate supply of pollinators is
essential to maintain global food security. However, pollinator populations have declined in many
parts of the world, and it is likely that climate change will further uncouple relationships between
plants and insects.
We propose to explore strategies to maximise pollination of the UK field bean crop. Field beans
are used as animal feed, providing an important protein supply because they fix nitrogen. Recent
reports suggest that pollination service is limiting yields in field beans.
Our approach will be to explore strategies for optimising field bean flowers to provide maximum
energetic reward to pollinators for minimum foraging energy expenditure. This will have the dual
benefit of increasing pollinator attraction to current crops, thus increasing yield, while also
supporting wild pollinator populations, thus increasing future pollinator population sizes (and
thus future yield).
We will use a combination of analytical, molecular genetic and behavioural ecology techniques to
explore strategies to enhance pollination. We will screen commercially grown lines for variation
in pollinator-relevant traits and identify genetic variation of potential use in breeding programmes.
We will use molecular genetic approaches to explore the development of key traits. Using our
caged bumblebee facility we will assess how the variations we identify influence pollinator
behaviour. Any lines that appear to attract additional pollinators or facilitate pollinator handling will
be trialled in greenhouses with enclosed bumblebee colonies, to assess the effects on fruit set.
Such lines will then be tested in field conditions at PGRO's field trails site, to explore yield under
natural conditions and to develop strategies for future selective breeding of the UK field bean
crop.