http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chempr.2017.01.012 The first record of hand pollination was in a relief from an Assyrian dynasty, 800 BC, now preserved in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. In the relief, shown in Figure 1A, two winged deities gingerly fertilize a date palm tree by using a male flower. Nearly 3,000 years later, pollination has been automated. In this issue of Chem, Chechetka et al. de...

In diverse pollinator communities, interspecific interactions may modify the behaviour and increase the pollination effectiveness of individual species. Because agricultural production reliant on pollination is growing, improving pollination effectiveness could increase crop yield without any increase in agricultural intensity or area. In California almond, a crop highly dependent on honey bee ...

Starch gelatinization and retrogradation properties of corn were studied to determine the effect of controlled (self) pollination versus noncontrolled pollination on analytical determinations, and the potential to eliminate the expensive and time-consuming step of self-pollinating before research screening of corn genotypes. Twenty-four hybrids were grown in two Iowa locations, Story City and A...

Dysosma pleiantha is an endangered and endemic species in China. We have reported the flowering phenology, breeding system and pollinator activity of the species distributed in Tianmu Mountain (Zhejiang Province) nature reserves. Flowering occurred during the months of early April to late May, with the peak in the middle of the April, and was synchronous across all four subpopulations. The anth...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Reduction in female fitness in large clones can occur as a result of increased geitonogamous self-fertilization and its influence through inbreeding depression. This possibility was investigated in the self-compatible, bee-pollinated perennial herb Aconitum kusnezoffii which varies in clone size. METHODS Field investigations were conducted on pollinator behaviour, flowerin...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Abiotic pollination by wind or water is well established in flowering plants. In some species pollination by rain splashes, a condition known as ombrophily, has been proposed as a floral strategy. However, evidence for this type of abiotic pollination has remained controversial and many reported cases have subsequently been shown to be false. This study investigates ombrophi...

almond is one of the most important prunus species. most almond cultivars and genotypes are self-incompatible and some others are cross-incompatible. however, recently self-incompatible cultivars developed by breeding are available. therefore self-incompatible cultivars for pollination, fertilization and production require compatible pollen of other cultivars. in this regard the study of pollen...