Crop pollination guide of Brazil

A guide to pollination on crops in Brazil

	Team: Prof. Dr. Alexandra-Maria Klein Dr. Virginie Boreux Dr. Felix Fornoff Collaborators:   Dr. Breno M. Freitas, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Brazil Dr. Christian Maus, Bayer CropScience, Germany Martin Urban, Syngenta, Schwitzerland   Project duration: 2016 -  2019 Funding: Syngenta

This project summaries the pollination requirements of Brazilian crops. After collecting data on the pollination requirements of 160 crops from the literature  in a previous project, this information are now available to students, scientists but also to stakeholders outside of academia.

This will be done in collaboration with Brazilian scientists and with the industry as they are interested in such information to better inform stakeholders how to apply plant protection products without harming pollinators. The initial project is to produce a field book for Brazil, with later possibilities to extend the work to other countries.

The literature collected within the project “Global evaluation of bee attractiveness and apicultural relevance of agricultural crops” was be used in addition to expert knowledge from Brazil to provide the necessary information on the pollination of specific crops from Brazil.

The detailed purpose of the book is to inform stakeholders (gardener, farmer, beekeeper, students, scientists) about:

• The pollination requirements of the main crops in Brazil
• The importance of pollinating animals to ensure crop production and quality
• The habitat requirements of the main pollinators
  

The book is planned to include four parts:

1. Introduction of the concept of pollination services and its benefits to crops
2. The management of pollinators, encouraging public participation e.g. by giving directions to building trap nests for bees
3. Present the main crop pollinators present in Brazil
4. list the crops grown in Brazil and their pollination requirements, with references to the third part.
   

With this book, readers will be able to recognize the main pollinating taxa that are important for the commercially grown crops in Brazil, and the environmental practices increasing or supporting pollinator populations.

Publications

• Klein, A.M., Freitas, B.M., Bomfim, I.G.A., Boreux, V., Fornoff, F. & Oliveira, M.O. (2020): A Polinização Agrícola por Insetos no Brasil - Um Guia para Fazendeiros, Agricultores, Extensionistas, Políticos e Conservacionistas. Albert-Ludwigs University Freiburg, Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology. FreiDok plus. online. doi: 10.6094/UNIFR/151237. 149p. Link
• Klein, A.M., Freitas, B.M., Bomfim, I.G.A., Boreux, V., Fornoff, F. & Oliveira, M.O. (2020): Insect Pollination of Crops in Brazil - A Guide for Farmers, Gardeners, Politicians and Conservationists. Albert-Ludwigs University Freiburg, Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology. FreiDok plus. online. doi: 10.6094/UNIFR/151200. 149p. Link