Strategies to optimise pollination of the UK field bean crop

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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.