Precision pollination for improved nutrition and shelf life

草莓是英国最具商业价值的水果作物之一，是包括维生素c在内的营养物质的良好来源。昆虫授粉对商业草莓的生产至关重要，是确保作物成功和适销对路的必要条件。过度授粉或授粉不足会导致低质量和畸形的果实，不适合出售。有效的授粉还可以延长浆果的保质期，并可能影响它们的营养成分。该项目将进一步开发声学传感器，以监测草莓农场的传粉者活动。这些传感器将确定授粉过度/不足的地区，这将为影响传粉者活动的干预措施提供信息。种植者目前对于如何改变传粉者的行为几乎没有选择，因此作为该项目的一部分，将开发一种商业大黄蜂群体的引诱剂/驱蚊剂，以在短期内影响大黄蜂的觅食，特别是在年轻的大黄蜂中。试验将在NIAB进行，以提供与传粉者活动和水果质量相关的传感器校准数据。它还将调查诱饵是否比最初的实验室试验更大规模地影响传粉者的活动。将从这些实验中收获浆果，并测量果实质量、营养成分和保质期，以了解授粉者招募开放花朵对这些特性的影响。该项目将通过以下方式为种植者、零售商和消费者带来重大利益：*提高草莓的营养成分（维生素C/酚类物质/抗氧化剂）*通过减少与授粉不足/过度相关的畸形来提高草莓的可销售产量*延长草莓的保质期，减少店内/家庭浪费*提供可用于提高其他依赖授粉的作物的产量/保质期/营养成分的技术。

Strawberries are one of the most commercially important fruit crops in the UK and are good sources of nutrients including vitamin C. Insect pollination is vital to the production of commercial strawberries and is required to ensure a successful and marketable crop. Over or underpollination can lead to low quality and misshapen fruit that is not suitable for sale. Effective pollination can also increase the shelf-life of berries and is likely to influence their nutritional content.This project will further develop acoustic sensors to monitor pollinator activity in strawberry farms. These sensors will identify areas of over/underpollination, which will inform interventions to influence pollinator activity. Growers currently have few options for how to alter pollinator behaviour, therefore as part of this project an attractant/repellent for commercial bumblebee colonies will be developed to influence the foraging of bumblebees over the short-term, especially in young bumblebees.Trials will be done at NIAB to provide data for calibration of sensors with pollinator activity and fruit quality. It will also investigate whether lures affect pollinator activity on a larger scale than initial laboratory trials. Berries will be harvested from these experiments and the fruit quality, nutritional profile and shelf life will be measured to understand the impact of pollinator recruitment to open flowers on these characteristics.This project would have significant benefits for growers, retailers and consumers by:* Improving the nutritional content of strawberries (vitamin C/phenolics/antioxidants)* Increasing marketable yield of strawberries by reducing misshapes associated with under/overpollination* Improving shelf-life of strawberries, reducing in-shop/at-home wastage* Delivering technologies that can be used to improve yield/shelf-life/nutritional-content of other crops reliant on pollination.