Strategies to optimise pollination of the UK field bean crop

花粉是我们食物供应生产的重要组成部分，我们大约三分之一的食物来自动物昆虫授粉。确保足够的授粉者供应对维持全球粮食安全至关重要。然而，传粉昆虫的数量在世界许多地方已经下降，气候变化可能会进一步拆散植物和昆虫之间的关系。我们建议探索策略，以最大限度地提高英国田间豆类作物的授粉。大豆被用作动物饲料，提供重要的蛋白质供应，因为它们固定氮。最近的报告表明，授粉服务是限制产量的领域beans.Our方法将探索优化领域beansflowers提供最大的能量奖励传粉者最小的觅食能量支出的策略。这将有双重好处，即增加传粉者对当前作物的吸引力，从而增加产量，同时也支持野生传粉者种群，从而增加未来传粉者种群的规模（从而增加未来的产量）。我们将结合使用分析，分子遗传和行为生态学技术来探索提高传粉的策略。我们将筛选商业化种植的品系中与传粉者相关的性状变异，并确定在育种计划中可能使用的遗传变异。我们将使用分子遗传学方法来探索关键性状的发展。使用我们的笼中熊蜂设施，我们将评估我们确定的变化如何影响传粉者的行为。任何能吸引更多传粉者或便于传粉者处理的品系都将在有封闭熊蜂群的温室中进行试验，以评估对坐果的影响。这些品系随后将在PGRO田间试验点的田间条件下进行试验，以探索自然条件下的产量，并为英国田间豆作物的未来选择性育种制定策略。

Pollination is an essential part of the production of our food supply, with approximately one thirdof our food resulting from animal insect pollination. Ensuring an adequate supply of pollinators isessential to maintain global food security. However, pollinator populations have declined in manyparts of the world, and it is likely that climate change will further uncouple relationships betweenplants and insects.We propose to explore strategies to maximise pollination of the UK field bean crop. Field beansare used as animal feed, providing an important protein supply because they fix nitrogen. Recentreports suggest that pollination service is limiting yields in field beans.Our approach will be to explore strategies for optimising field bean flowers to provide maximumenergetic reward to pollinators for minimum foraging energy expenditure. This will have the dualbenefit of increasing pollinator attraction to current crops, thus increasing yield, while alsosupporting wild pollinator populations, thus increasing future pollinator population sizes (andthus future yield).We will use a combination of analytical, molecular genetic and behavioural ecology techniques toexplore strategies to enhance pollination. We will screen commercially grown lines for variationin pollinator-relevant traits and identify genetic variation of potential use in breeding programmes.We will use molecular genetic approaches to explore the development of key traits. Using ourcaged bumblebee facility we will assess how the variations we identify influence pollinatorbehaviour. Any lines that appear to attract additional pollinators or facilitate pollinator handling willbe trialled in greenhouses with enclosed bumblebee colonies, to assess the effects on fruit set.Such lines will then be tested in field conditions at PGRO's field trails site, to explore yield undernatural conditions and to develop strategies for future selective breeding of the UK field beancrop.