INDUSTRY NEWS
From page 13 Almond pollen is sensitive to handling and storage conditions , losing viability within 30 minutes of being released from a flower if not handled properly . However , with care and proper storage , almond pollen can remain viable for several years , helping mitigate supply risks between flowering seasons . Each flower only releases a small amount of pollen – so getting enough to deploy at an orchard scale , an estimated 50 g per hectare for supplemental ( not full ) pollination takes substantial effort . The easiest method is to use devices that collect pollen from foraging honey bees ; however , this is often contaminated with non-target pollen and hive debris ( Figure 2 ). Additionally , honey bees mix collected pollen with saliva and nectar , which makes the viability of the pollen highly variable . Estimates suggest that the germination rate of kiwifruit pollen grains collected by bees can be as low as 5 % under poor conditions , and as high as 67 % in good conditions . If bee-collected pollen is to be used , methods must be developed to ensure that the pollen produced is consistently effective . The alternative commercially viable approach is to harvest unopened flowers directly from trees , dry them , and mill them to collect pollen ( Figure 3 ). Pollen collected in this way has initial viability between 80 % and 90 %. This method is most like what is currently commercialised in California and development of a similar system in Australia would require assessments under local conditions . Artificial pollination in kiwifruit was preceded by decades of research by the DSIR ( now Plant & Food Research ) into pollen handling and deployment . When the technology was exported to Italy , where it is now successfully used , it still required further research to adapt the methods to the local environment . Success in the pollen collection and handling stage will open doors to a myriad of opportunities to identify the best technologies , application rates , timing and plant varieties to use for artificial pollination , refining Australian
Figure 2 : Honey bees can be used to collect pollen for re-application , but the quality of pollen collected in this way is variable and often low . Photo : Brian Cutting , Plant & Food Research
Figure 3 : Pollen collection can be achieved by collecting and processing closed flowers ( top ) or by using tools or bees to collect from open flowers in the field ( bottom ). Each method involves multiple processing steps and can result in pollen of varying quality cost . Illustration : Melissa Broussard , Plant & Food Research ( CC-BY-4.0 )
pollen collection and application technologies in tandem . A business case developed by GHD with input from Plant & Food Research for Australia has indicated that once these details are worked out , artificial pollination provision and pollen collection / supply likely will be profitable industries .
industry . australianalmonds . com . au
With initial investment , largescale producers may be able to provide these services ‘ in-house ’ to maintain control of pollen supply , but fee-for-service providers will also likely be successful in servicing multiple pollinationdependent crops in addition to almonds bringing improved pollination security to multiple Australian industries . For further information please see our open-access research paper in the journal Agronomy : DOI 10.3390 / agronomy13051351 .
PH19004 : ‘ The business of pollination in Horticulture ’ has been funded by Hort Innovation with co-investment from Plant & Food Research , using the Hort Frontiers pollination fund research and development levy and contributions from the Australian Government . Hort Innovation is the grower-owned , not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture .
15