[Pollinator] "Sustainable Agriculture Spotlight" with Jeff Birkby about pollinators

[Peter Bernhardt]

Dear Matthew:

You know, I'd feel a lot better about radio chat shows if we'd all modify
our statements (just a little bit).  The program description below makes a
sweeping claim.  It's just a matter of adding two words to the first
sentence so it reads  "Much of our fruit, nut and vegetable supply
depends..."

Really, you can't make a case for the importance of insect-pollinated crops
to people in the walnut, pecan, pine nut and hazel nut (filbert) industries.
 I don't have a copy of Free's "Insect Pollination of Crops" (1970) with me
but I suspect that spinach flowers, and the flowers of those leafy amaranths
found in supermarket salad bags, depend on pollen drifting in air currents
as well...right?

I'm very pleased when colleagues inform the public about pollination and
press the concept that pollination is an "essential service."  However, we
must give credit where credit is due and reflect on the fact that most (not
all) gymnosperms and quite a few flowering plants have "opted out" of the
birds and the bees and the bats nectar  race and settled for essential
services performed by wind or water.

Perhaps a member of this list would comment on the huge citrus industry.
 Most modern breeds are polyploids and agamospermic and/or parthenocarpic.
 It's nice to see honeybees in the groves and orange-blossom honey is my
favorite.  The question is whether they are needed at all?  Do most (any)
citrus cultivars need pollen deposited on stigmas to trigger fruit set?
 Certainly, some agamospermic pathways in other species (Potentilla and
other members of the Rosaceae) require a sort of "pseudo" or
"Half-fertilization."  The egg refuses sperm but the polar cells must have
it to make the typical triploid endosperm.

Sincerely, Peter

On Wed, Jul 21, 2010 at 12:11 PM, Matthew Shepherd (Xerces Society) <
mdshepherd at xerces.org> wrote:

>  "Sustainable Agriculture Spotlight" with Jeff Birkby (outreach director
> for NCAT’s National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service) is
> broadcast on VoiceAmerica Talk Radio Network. Yesterday's (Tuesday, 7/20)
> program focused on pollinators and featured interviews with Rex Dufour of
> NCAT and Eric Mader of the Xerces Society.
>
> You can listen to it or download a podcast at
> http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=47437.
>
> The program description from the website:
> "Our nation’s fruit, nut, and vegetable supply depends on insect
> pollinators. But our conventional agricultural systems aren’t friendly to
> pollinating insects. Conventional agriculture also relies heavily on only
> one insect, the European honeybee, to pollinate most of our crops. In this
> episode, host Jeff Birkby interviews Eric Mader, National Pollinator
> Outreach Coordinator for the nonprofit Xerces Society. Also joining the
> program will be Rex Dufour of the National Center for Appropriate
> Technology. Eric and Rex will discuss the importance of pollinators in
> sustainable agriculture, and ways farmers and gardeners can attract
> beneficial insects to pollinate crops."
>
>
> ______________________________________________________
> *The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation*
>  The Xerces Society is an international nonprofit organization that
> protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their
> habitat. To join the Society, make a contribution, or read about our
> work, please visit www.xerces.org.
>
> Matthew Shepherd
> Senior Conservation Associate
> 4828 SE Hawthorne Boulevard, Portland, OR 97215, USA
> Tel: 503-232 6639 Cell: 503-807 1577 Fax: 503-233 6794
> Email: mdshepherd at xerces.org
> ______________________________________________________
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Pollinator mailing list
> Pollinator at lists.sonic.net
> http://lists.sonic.net/mailman/listinfo/pollinator
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.sonic.net/pipermail/pollinator/attachments/20100722/0345e6d0/attachment.html>