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Pollination management


Pollination management is the label for horticultural practices that accomplish or enhance pollination of a crop, to improve yield or quality, by understanding of the particular crop's pollination needs, and by knowledgeable management of pollenizers, pollinators, and pollination conditions.

With the decline of both wild and domestic pollinator populations, pollination management is becoming an increasingly important part of horticulture. Factors that cause the loss of pollinators include pesticide misuse, unprofitability of beekeeping for honey, rapid transfer of pests and diseases to new areas of the globe, urban/suburban development, changing crop patterns, clearcut logging (particularly when mixed forests are replaced by monoculture pine), clearing of hedgerows and other wild areas, bad diet because of loss of floral biodiversity, and a loss of nectar corridors for migratory pollinators.

The increasing size of fields and orchards (monoculture) increase the importance of pollination management. Monoculture can cause a brief period when pollinators have more food resources than they can use (but monofloral diet can reduce their immune system) while other periods of the year can bring starvation or pesticide contamination of food sources. Most nectar source and pollen source throughout the growing season to build up their numbers.

Crops that traditionally have had managed pollination include apple, almonds, pears, some plum and cherry varieties, blueberries, cranberries, cucumbers, cantaloupe, watermelon, alfalfa seeds, onion seeds, and many others. Some crops that have traditionally depended entirely on chance pollination by wild pollinators need pollination management nowadays to make a profitable crop.


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