Plant-pollinator inter-play in pulses in the context of ecosystem health

Trabajo presentado en la International Conference on Pulses for Health, Nutrition and Sustainable Agriculture in Drylands, celebrada en Marrakesh del 18 al 20 de abril de 2016.

Pulses are pollinated by several apoid species. However, the plant pollinator inter-play does not get much attention as a useful tool in breeding planning. The attention that should be given to the understanding of the interplay plant-pollinator in pulses is the consequence of the combined importance of the pollination for the production service and breeding strategies, plus the increasing urgency, in mitigating bee-pollinators decline by the development / implementation of conservation measures. Faced with an increasingly uncertain climate and a global decline on biodiversity, the ability to incorporate the potential benefits of insect pollinators will become increasingly important to protect yields. Further, it is important to highlight that pollination and pollinators are very significant for the production of local pulse crops that are important for local communities. However, it is highly likely that bee-pollinated pulses grown today are suboptimal in terms of their floral traits for attracting and sustaining their pollinator populations. Pulses breeding for sustainable agriculture, in the face of climate change, demands the development of non-food services. Foraging places for bees are some of the ecological services provided for pulses. Declines in bee populations have increased the interest in this particular ecological service of pulses. Moreover, pulses have a great potential to be served by bee pollinators. Pollinators, as agents of crossing are natural breeders of highest importance for the development of hybrids and/or heterotic high yielding and resilient open-pollinated populations. Farmers should use pollinator-friendly crops to increase the occurrence, health and visitation of pollinators. Designing the right crop, appropriate and effective in a particular site, is where management of pollination becomes key. It is necessary the construction of a conceptual framework and an analytical tool to develop approaches in pulse production, based on understanding and sustainable use of pollinators. The view point is that plant-pollinator interplay understanding may inform breeding approaches for a sustainable agriculture to meet both goals: 1) optimal productivity (food production service), based on an efficient use of pollinators, and 2) biodiversity conservation (ecological service). To implement this approach, the methodology proposed is to support native pollinators for insect-mediated outcrossing by designing a crop with appropriate functional flower traits: Crop Design System (CDS). In the CDS approach, breeders and farmers incorporate the potential benefits of pollen vectors into practices to increase the efficiency of hybrid seed technology and, in parallel, increase the occurrence, health and visitation of pollinators, whether these are wild or managed, by developing pollinator-friendly crops. The topic is timely because initiatives, at world level (the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), on the assessment of pollination and pollinators associated with food production confirmed that the management of pollinators is an issue of paramount importance to our food supply system and food security.

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