Enhancing entomophilous pollination for sustainable crop production

Authors: BORGHI, MONICA - Utah State University; DEVETTER, LISA - Washington State University; EDGER, PATRICK - Michigan State University; GUTENSOHN, MICHAEL - West Virginia University; GROTEWORLD, ERICH - Michigan State University; SAGILI, RAMESH - Oregon State University; Graham, Kelsey; LI, CHANGYING - University Of Florida; GALINATO, SUZETTE - Washington State University; CHU, YE - University Of Georgia; LEONARD, MELANIE - Michigan State University; JADHAV, SAGAR - Utah State University; MELATHOPOULOS, ADONY - Oregon State University; CANE, JAMES - Wildbeecology; SANDEFUR, PAUL - Fall Creek Farm And Nursery; DELA LUZ, ANGELITA - Beeflow; CHITWOOD, DAN - Michigan State University; SCHAEFFER, ROBERT - Utah State University; Rering, Caitlin

Submitted to: The Plant Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/18/2025
Publication Date: 5/28/2025
Citation: Borghi, M., Devetter, L., Edger, P.P., Gutensohn, M., Groteworld, E., Sagili, R., Graham, K.K., Li, C., Galinato, S., Chu, Y., Leonard, M.B., Jadhav, S., Melathopoulos, A., Cane, J.H., Sandefur, P., Dela Luz, A., Chitwood, D.H., Schaeffer, R., Rering, C.C. 2025. Enhancing entomophilous pollination for sustainable crop production. The Plant Journal. https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.70234.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.70234

Interpretive Summary: Many nutritious and valuable crops are pollinator-dependent, meaning they rely on insects like bees to move pollen between flowers for fertilization as the first step in successful food production. Without adequate pollinator visitation, both the quality and quantity of food suffers. Despite the importance of pollinators to good food production, to date, most efforts associated with improving crops through selective breeding have not focused on traits that improve pollination. In collaboration with a team of researcher from academia and private industry, ARS Scientists at the Pollinating Insect-Biology, Management, Systematics Research Unit in Logan, UT and the Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary Entomology, in Gainesville, FL propose that future crop breeding efforts focus on traits that will make crop flowers healthier and more attractive for pollinators. They describe the latest cutting-edge techniques from various disciplines that can guide these efforts. This framework provides an approach to plant breeding that could ultimately improve crop yields, lower the costs associated with pollinator provisioning to crops, and enhance food security.

Technical Abstract: Successful fertilization of entomophilous-pollinated crops hinges on a delicate interplay of olfactory and visual signals of pollinator attraction, the chemical complexity of nectar and pollen rewards, and the physical interaction between insects and flower anatomy for efficient pollen transfer. These traits, being genetically controlled and exhibiting phenotypic variance even within species, present opportunities for breeding technologies to map and select genotypes with floral traits that actively guide pollinator preferences. Recent technological advancements and automation enable high-throughput metabolic phenotyping of floral chemical traits of pollinator attraction and rewards. These measurements, when integrated with CT-scan-based flower shape analysis and 3D-video tracking of pollinator behavior, can guide the selection of genotypes with enhanced insect visitation rates and effective cross-pollination. We particularly highlight the potential of this strategy for blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.), a crop heavily reliant on bee pollination for fruit production, of which the flowers display considerable variance of chemical and morphological traits and pollinator visitation rates. Leveraging blueberry's genetic diversity can address pollination issues exacerbated by climate change and declining bee health, contributing to more sustainable agricultural production.