Browsing by Subject "pölytyspalvelu"

The crops, pollinator species and the agricultural conditions in the Northern agricultural district differ from those in most other areas. For example, in Finland the importance of insect pollination hasn't been researched very broadly. The oil plant widely cultivated in Finland, turnip rape (Brassica rapa subsp. Oleifera) has been discovered to benefit from insect pollination. The aim of this study is to examine whether the yield is different with turnip rapes where insect pollination is free or prevented, and how pollinator species and the number of flower visits affect the turnip rape yield. The study was mainly conducted in July 2017 on field parcels in Uusimaa. In the turnip rape fields, different pollinators and their visits in turnip rape flowers were monitored. To prevent insect pollination, the turnip rapes were covered with gauze bags before flowering began so that several plants came into one bag. This allowed cross-pollination. The total number of flower visits by pollinators was linked to the number of racemes and seeds of the plant: insect pollination decreased the number of racemes and increased the number of seeds per plant. The honeybees and hoverflies were a major group of pollinators explaining the turnip rape yield. Openly pollinated turnip rapes contained fewer racemes and more siliques and seeds per silique than enclosed plants. In addition, the weight of the seeds was higher In this study, it was discovered that there are differences between diverse pollinator species groups when it comes to pollination efficiency. It is still not clear how exactly the diversity of pollinator species affects pollination. Several studies show that after a certain threshold, flower visits by honey bees no more have an increasing effect on crop yields. Thus, other pollinators are also needed for optimal pollination. This study especially highlighted the significance of wild pollinators in pollinating crop plants. There seems to be demand for long-term monitoring of the pollination efficiency of different pollinator groups in the northern agricultural region

The quantity and quality of buckwheat yield are highly dependent on insect mediated cross-pollination. While buckwheat flowers are visited by a diverse pollinator guild, honey bees are often considered to be their most important pollinators. This study describes the effect of pollination by honey bees and wild pollinators on buckwheat yield quantity and quality (1000 seed weight, harvest index and proportion of empty achenes). The composition of the pollinator guild was also monitored. The study was conducted in Southern Finland, 2017. Pollination cages with four pollination treatments were used to study insect pollination. The treatments were as follows: closed cage with honey bee colony, closed cage (excluding all pollinators), open cage and free pollination. The open cage and free pollination treatments were accessible to both honey bees and wild pollinators. The experiment was conducted as a randomized complete block design with four blocks. A honey bee colony was placed next to the research field to carry out free pollination. Pollinator composition was surveyed by transect walks, with special attention paid to the beginning of flowering, which is when the main yield is formed. The highest yields were obtained in the free pollination (822 kg/ha) and open cage (718 kg/ha) treatments. The yield of plants pollinated exclusively by honey bees was 427 kg/ha. The lowest yield was obtained from closed cages (37 kg/ha). The difference in yield was significant for all treatments except open cage and free pollination. The treatments did not affect the 1000 seed weight. The absence of insect pollination decreased the harvest index by approximately 92% and the proportion of filled seeds by approximately 30 percentage points. At the beginning of flowering, honey bees were the dominant pollinators. Insect pollination is essential for the quantity and quality of buckwheat yield. Pollination service by honey bees increases the yield, but is not solely sufficient. The highest yield was obtained when both honey bees and wild pollinators were present. This study focused on honey bees, but the role and efficiency of specific wild pollinators as pollinators of buckwheat should also be studied.

Worldwide, pollination affects in food security, livelihood of agricultural entrepreneurs and beekeepers, and biodiversity. Pollination services are underrepresented in field of research in Finland. The aim of the thesis is to describe, analyze and interpret the state of the pollination services in the Finnish agricultural areas concentrating in honeybee pollination. The research questions concern how many beekeepers offer pollination services and for which insect-pollinated plants, in which areas the pollination services are supplied and are the beekeepers and agricultural entrepreneurs connected. Also, the aim is to form an answer that how the pollination services could be developed in Finland. The thesis is a part of Finnish Environment Institute’s and Finnish Beekeepers’ Association’s PÖLYHYÖTY -project. It is located in the third work package “Supply of honeybee pollination in the Finnish agricultural areas and the economic value of insect pollination”. The research was implemented via questionnaire. Based on the data collected via the questionnaire, nine interviews were conducted in order to deepen the understanding about the market, especially supply, of pollination services. The questionnaire was directed via email to all the members of Finnish Beekeepers Association’s members, approximately 2750 receivers, of which 447 replied. The data from the questionnaire was analyzed by means of statistical indicators, crosstabs, non-parametric tests, linear regression analysis and K-means cluster analysis. The interviews were transcribed, analyzed using qualitative methods and parts of them are being presented along the text. Supply for pollination services is small-scale despite the rapid growth in the number of beekeepers. Assumingly, supply and demand for pollination services is likely to increase in the following years. The demand increases due to the increased acreage of insect-pollinated plants. Thus, supply of pollination services is evidently elastic and obeys the growth of the market. According to this research, approximately a half of beekeepers in Finland supply pollination services, but with a small number of colonies. There are a large number of part-time beekeepers who supply the pollination services without receiving monetary compensation for it, usually against for a permanent bee colony site and an oral contract. Geographically the beekeepers and their colonies are located in the same areas as the plants needing pollination. Clover, broad bean, rapeseed, strawberry, apple, garden raspberry and currants are the cultivated plants of which have been pollinated by honeybee colonies most frequently. A small number of young, full-time beekeepers can be identified from the data; they are interested in combining honey production and pollination services as part of their business. The supply and demand for pollination services requires more research in order to be able to apply the research to the farm level and their individual needs. However, pollination service market has a positive outlook in the future having a significant role in sustainable food production as a developing market.