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

[Matthew Shepherd (Xerces Society)]

Peter,

I totally agree with you about the lack of pollinator-need for wind-pollinated nuts, and there is certainly some question about the need to bees in orange groves (and, as readers of this list will know, there has been efforts by some citrus growers to exclude honey bees from wide areas around seedless varieties).

Unfortunately, as anyone who works with the media can attest, there are times when we suffer from inaccuracies or sweeping comments written by members of the media. The program description I pasted into my email to the list was posted by VoiceAmerica onto their web site some days ahead of the broadcast. It does not reflect what was said by the guests during the subsequent broadcast.

Ensuring that journalists and others have accurate information is a never-ending task. Even when they have got the correct information, there is no guarantee that it will be published accurately! On this occasion, it my be best to take it up directly with VoiceAmerica.

Matthew

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On 7/22/2010 at 9:30 AM Peter Bernhardt wrote:
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 
______________________________________________________


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______________________________________________________
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 
______________________________________________________

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