A new study led by Rutgers University-New Brunswick reveals that insufficient pollinator visits are hindering crop yields worldwide, affecting crucial foods, such as fruits and vegetables. The findings emphasize the need for improved pollinator management to bolster global food security.
In a study raising both alarm and hope, a team of researchers led by Rutgers University-New Brunswick has uncovered a significant deficiency in pollinator visits to crops, resulting in lower yields worldwide. The comprehensive analysis covered more than 1,500 fields across six continents and found a notable shortfall in the productivity of essential and nutritionally dense foods, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes.
Published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, the study details how inadequate pollinator visits — termed “pollinator limitation” — are causing yield deficits in one-third to two-thirds of the analyzed farms. The research is especially timely given the global decline in insect populations.
“Our findings are a cause for concern and optimism,” Katie Turo, a study author and postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources at Rutgers, said in a news release. “We did detect widespread yield deficits. However, we also estimate that, through continued investment in pollinator management and research, it is likely that we can improve the efficiency of our existing crop fields to meet the nutritional needs of our global population.”
The researchers reached this conclusion after conducting a statistical analysis of over 200,000 bee visitations to crop flowers, drawing from one of the most comprehensive databases on crop pollination globally. This open-source database, the product of collaborations with European and South American scientists, spans 30 years of field observations.
It is essential to note that the study’s findings do not pertain to staple crops like rice and wheat, which do not rely on animal pollinators. However, the implications for crops that do require pollination — those described by Turo as “nutrient-dense and interesting foods that we like and are culturally relevant” — are significant. These include a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes.
“If you look through a list of crops and think about which fruits and vegetables you’re most excited to eat — like summer berries or apples and pumpkins in the fall — those are the crops that typically need to be pollinated by insects,” added Turo.
Pollinators like bees play a crucial role in the plant fertilization process by moving pollen from male to female flower parts, enabling seed, fruit and plant production. Bees, in particular, are exceptionally effective, as they visit more flowers and carry more pollen than other insects or animals such as bats.
Previous research by Rachael Winfree, a professor in Rutgers’ Department of Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources, who is also the senior author of this study, indicated that about 88% of the world’s flowering plants and 76% of the leading global food crops benefit from pollinator activity.
Yield deficits were identified in 25 different crops and across 85% of the countries included in the study. Encouragingly, Turo and her colleagues believe that these deficits could be mitigated with realistic increases in pollinator visitation, enhancing the consistency of yields across crop fields.
“The findings are significant because crop yields, which measure the amount of crops grown per unit area of land, are relevant to assessing the adequacy of the world’s food supply relative to its population,” Winfree said in the news release. “Our findings show that by paying more attention to pollinators, growers could make agricultural fields more productive.”
The research underscores the urgency of addressing pollinator declines. Enhanced pollinator management could become a vital strategy in securing global food resources.