The role of insect pollination and plant genotype in strawberry fruit set and fertility

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Abstract
Summary In 1984 and 1985, eight strawberry (Fragaria × ananasso Duch) cultivars were exposed to the pollinating activity of honey bees and other insects, or protected by isolating cages. The extent of pollination under cages, measured as percentage of poorly pollinated (PP) fruit, was not related to stamen height or to the ratio between stamen and receptacle heights. Open pollination, compared to absence of insects under cages, decreased the percentage of PP fruit and increased the number of fruit set, the latter being more pronounced in those cultivars which had a lower fruit set under cages. There was no correlation, however, between increase in degree of pollination observed in open polli-nated vs. caged plots, and the frequency of insect visits at blooming. Also, a sizeable, cultivar-specific percentage of PP fruit could still be counted on open pollinated plots, in spite of the abundance of both pollinators and pollen from different genotypic sources. It was concluded that, for some genotypes, pistil sterility can be a cause of poor achene fertility. In all cultivars, flower attractiveness towards bees was positively correlated with flower attractiveness towards other insect pollinators, when honey bees were very numerous, however, they appeared to be stronger competitors, diverting other pollinators to other foraging grounds. Insect pollination was estimated to contribute 28% of the yield, averaged over both years.

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