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Dryad

Pollination by bats enhances both quality and yield of a major cash crop in Mexico

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Nov 27, 2019 version files 56.33 KB

Abstract

  1. We used exclusion experiments to determine the effect of different pollinator taxa on the yield and quality of pitayas (fruit of Stenocereus queretaroensis (F.A.C. Weber) Buxbaum), a major crop in central Mexico. We studied the three most economically important cultivars and wild individuals in the principal region for pitaya production. For each pollinator taxa we recorded fruit set and measured three key parameters of fruit quality: weight, sucrose concentration and seed set.
  2. When bats were excluded from flowers and flowers were pollinated by other taxa (i.e. diurnal birds and insects), pitaya yield decreased by 35%, though pollination dependence varied between cultivars. Fruit quality decreased significantly in the absence of bat pollination across all cultivars, with fruits 46% lighter and 13% less sweet when pollinated by other taxa, thus reducing economic value as size determines market price. Additionally, seed set (an indicator of effective pollination) was significantly lower in the absence of bat pollinators.