Improving the pollination of the strawberry
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Plant Sciences
Abstract
Theme: Agriculture and Food Security
Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa), a commercially important fruit crop with worldwide sales in excess of $3.5bn per year, contributes significant levels of micronutrients to the human diet. The flowers are hermaphrodite and self-compatible but do not readily self-pollinate without physical transfer of pollen to stigma. The long-term goals of this study are to contribute to an understanding of how strawberry flowers attract pollinators, and to provide advice on future breeding strategies to maximise pollinator attraction and yield while providing support to pollinator populations.
Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa), a commercially important fruit crop with worldwide sales in excess of $3.5bn per year, contributes significant levels of micronutrients to the human diet. The flowers are hermaphrodite and self-compatible but do not readily self-pollinate without physical transfer of pollen to stigma. The long-term goals of this study are to contribute to an understanding of how strawberry flowers attract pollinators, and to provide advice on future breeding strategies to maximise pollinator attraction and yield while providing support to pollinator populations.
Organisations
| Description | Cambridge Philosophical Society |
| Amount | £150 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Cambridge Philosophical Society |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2018 |
| End | 05/2018 |
| Description | Frank Smart Scholarship |
| Amount | £1,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Department | Department of Plant Sciences |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2019 |
| End | 01/2019 |
| Description | Jesus College Graduate Research Fund |
| Amount | £307 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Department | Jesus College |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2018 |
| End | 07/2018 |
| Description | Peter Warnock Fund, Department of Plant Sciences |
| Amount | £300 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University of Cambridge |
| Department | Department of Plant Sciences |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2019 |
| End | 02/2019 |
| Title | SpotCard: an optical mark recognition tool to improve field data collection speed and accuracy |
| Description | Background When taking photographs of plants in the field, it is often necessary to record additional information such as sample number, biological replicate number and subspecies. Manual methods of recording such information are slow, often involve laborious transcription from hand-written notes or the need to have a laptop or tablet on site, and present a risk by separating written data capture from image capture. Existing tools for field data capture focus on recording information rather than capturing pictures of plants. Results We present SpotCard, a tool comprising two macros. The first can be used to create a template for small, reusable cards for use when photographing plants. Information can be encoded on these cards in a human- and machine-readable form, allowing the user to swiftly make annotations before taking the photograph. The second part of the tool automatically reads the annotations from the image and tabulates them in a CSV file, along with picture date, time and GPS coordinates. The SpotCard also provides a convenient scale bar and coordinate location within the image for the flower itself, enabling automated measurement of floral traits such as area and perimeter. Conclusions This tool is shown to read annotations with a high degree of accuracy and at a speed greatly faster than manual transcription. It includes the ability to read the date and time of the photograph, as well as GPS location. It is an open-source ImageJ/Fiji macro and is available online. Its use requires no knowledge of the ImageJ macro coding language, and it is therefore well suited to all researchers taking pictures in the field. |
| Type Of Material | Data analysis technique |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Data analysis ongoing. |
| Description | 'Flower Power' video with EIT Food |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A four-minute video explaining our research, released on the University of Cambridge YouTube channel, and publicised via the University of Cambridge Twitter and Facebook accounts. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fgII_Z2x9c |
| Description | BBC News coverage |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | 3-minute spot on the 6pm news on BBC Look East talking about our research and inviting viewers to come to the Cambridge University Festival of Plants. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Press release and media coverage of 'bee vomiting' paper |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The University of Cambridge issued a press release around our paper in Journal of the Royal Society Interface. This was picked up by numerous outlets, including the New York Times (online), the Times (print), the Independent (print), the Daily Mail (online), Sky News (online), BBC Radio 6 Music, and many others. I was also interviewed by the Naked Scientists (BBC Radio). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/vomiting-bumblebees-show-that-sweeter-is-not-necessarily-better |
| Description | Talks to groups of adults |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A talk on 'the science of pollination' to interested groups (eg beekeepers, nature societies). The talk has the opportunity for discussion afterwards, and the questions asked indicate that the attendees increased their knowledge of pollination services and why fundamental research into pollination is important. I have presented to: - West Norfolk and King's Lynn Beekeepers' Association - West Suffolk Beekeepers' Association - Ipswich and East Suffolk Beekeepers' Association - Cambridgeshire Beekeepers' Association - Cambridge Science Festival |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017,2018,2019 |