Some facts

• Out of the 1,400 crop plants grown around the world, i.e., those that produce all of our food and plant-based industrial
products, almost 75-80% require pollination by animals.
• Apple: In apple seed set occurs only if it is pollinated by bees.
• Mango pollinators include different kinds of wasps, flies, stingless bees and even ants. Flies and stingless bees are thought
to be the main pollinators of mangoes as they visit the flowers in large numbers and disperse between different trees.
•
Importance of pollinators
• Pollinators support biodiversity: There is a correlation between plant diversity and pollinator
diversity.
• The pollinator population of an area is a great indicator of the overall health of an ecosystem.
• Some crops, including blueberries and cherries, are 90 percent dependent on honey bee
pollination.
• Honey bees visit five million flowers to make one pint of honey.
• To produce 150 pounds of honey, bees cover a distance equal to 13 trips to the moon and back.
• 90 percent of the nation's apple crop is pollinated by bees.
• Bees tend to prefer flowers that they can walk on to sip nectar. Butterflies and moths need a
place to land on the flowers that they visit, so they prefer broad, flat-faced flowers.
• Increased yields and higher quality crops are benefits that growers and consumers realize from
a healthy pollinator population, native or managed.
 Characteristics of flowers
• Flowers bloom during the day and night, depending on which
pollinator they need to attract. Day-blooming flowers are often
brightly colored, while those that bloom at night are often pale, and
may produce sweet scents or odors to attract nocturnal pollinators
such as moths and bats.

• Plants pollinated by bats often have pale nocturnal flowers (in

contrast, bees are mostly attracted to bright, daytime flowers). 
• Bee visits plants for its food, nectar and pollen. This floral fidelity of bees is due to their
preference for nectars having sugar contents and pollens with higher nutritive values. Besides
getting food for the bees as a result of their visit pollinate a number of crops.
• Qualities of honeybees which make them good pollinators
• Body covered with hairs and has structural adaptation for carrying nectar and pollen.
• Bees do not injure the plants
• Adult and larva feed on nectar and pollen which is available in plenty
• Considered as superior pollinators, since store pollen and nectar for future use
• No diapauses is observed and needs pollen throughout the year
• Body size and proboscis length is very much suitable for many crops
• Pollinate wide variety of crops
• Forage in extreme weather conditions also
Effect of bee pollination on crop
• It increases yield in terms of seed yield and fruit yield in many crops
• It improves quality of fruits and seeds
• Bee pollination increases oil content of seeds in sunflower
• Bee pollination is a must in some self incompatible crops for seed set
• Crops benefited by bee pollination
Fruits and nuts: Almond, apple, apricot, peach, strawberry, citrus and litchi
Vegetable and Vegetable seed crops: Cabbage, cauliflower, carrot,
coriander, cucumber, melon, onion, pumpkin, radish and turnip.
Oil seed crops: Sunflower, niger, rape seed, mustard, safflower, gingelly.
Forage seed crops: Lucerne, clover.
Importance of Microbial agents in plant
protection
 Microbial agents
 The use of live predatory insects, entomo pathogenic nematodes, or
microbial pathogens to suppress populations of different pest insects.
 Application of selected and mass produced antagonists in high
densities once or several times is known as Augmented Biological
Control.
 This are also called as Microbial biological control agents (MBCA)
 There mode of action is different
EM
• Crop diversification and commercialization
• Agriculture crops for agroforestry and environmental protection
(Name any 10 trees used for agroforestry purposes)
Advantages
• Diverse products
• Nitrogen fixation
• Nutrient recycling
• promote livestock development
• Soil conservation
• soil amelioration
• Windbreak
• Moisture
• shade
Demerits of agroforestry
• light space completion
• part of cropland occupied
• pest disease
• mechanical damage from cultivation and harvest of forest product
• Allelopathy effect may hinder the production
• combination management requires knowledge know how
•
 Types of agroforestry
Agrisilviculture- food + trees (sisso and coffee, uttis and tea)
Silvipasture- livestock and tree
Agrosilvipasture -crops ,livestock and tree
Sericulture and apiculture
THANKS