This bulletin, based on contributions from various contributors and edited by Dr. D.W. Roubik, introduces the reader to various aspects of natural and insect pollination. It discusses the pollinators themselves, and the ecological and economic importance of pollination, as well as applied pollination in temperate, tropical oceanic islands and mainland tropics, and alternatives to artificial pollinator populations. Prospects for the future are also discussed. Chapter 2 deals with successful pollination with pollinator populations, the evaluation of pollinators and floral biology and research techniques. The behaviour of pollinators and plant phenology and various case studies on the preparation of pollinators for use in tropical agriculture are also discussed. A glossary and various appendices regarding cultivated and semi-cultivated plants in the tropics, pollination contracts and levels of safety of pesticides for bees and other pollinators are included.

More than twenty years ago, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations contributed to the growing recognition of the role of pollination in agricultural production, with the publication of “The Pollination of Cultivated Plants in the Tropics”. Since that time, the appreciation of pollinators has grown, alongside the realization that we stand to lose them. But our knowledge and understanding of crop pollination, pollinator biology, and best management practices has also expanded over this time.This volume is the first of two “compendiums for practitioners”, sharing expert knowledge on all dimensions of crop pollination in both temperate and tropical zones. The focus in this first volume is on applied crop and system-specific pollination.

This bulletin, based on contributions from various contributors and edited by Dr. D.W. Roubik, introduces the reader to various aspects of natural and insect pollination. It discusses the pollinators themselves, and the ecological and economic importance of pollination, as well as applied pollination in temperate, tropical oceanic islands and mainland tropics, and alternatives to artificial pollinator populations. Prospects for the future are also discussed. Chapter 2 deals with successful pollination with pollinator populations, the evaluation of pollinators and floral biology and research techniques. The behaviour of pollinators and plant phenology and various case studies on the preparation of pollinators for use in tropical agriculture are also discussed. A glossary and various appendices regarding cultivated and semi-cultivated plants in the tropics, pollination contracts and levels of safety of pesticides for bees and other pollinators are included.

This book has a wider approach not strictly focused on crop production compared to other books that are strictly oriented towards bees, but has a generalist approach to pollination biology. It also highlights relationships between introduced and wild pollinators and consequences of such introductions on communities of wild pollinating insects. The chapters on biochemical basis of plant-pollination interaction, pollination energetics, climate change and pollinators and pollinators as bioindicators of ecosystem functioning provide a base for future insights into pollination biology. The role of honeybees and wild bees on crop pollination, value of bee pollination, planned honeybee pollination, non-bee pollinators, safety of pollinators, pollination in cages, pollination for hybrid seed production, the problem of diseases, genetically modified plants and bees, the role of bees in improving food security and livelihoods, capacity building and awareness for pollinators are also discussed.

Despite being the biggest group of organisms inhabiting Earth in both diversity and sheer numbers, insects are barely commercialized. Most of the standard textbooks of applied entomology talk about insect pest management, and when it comes to commercial aspects of insects, only apiculture, sericulture, and lac culture are talked about. This book will help bring other commercial uses of insects and their economic potential to the fore. This will generate interest in further research on the commercial potential of insects, thereby harnessing a much-found resource. The book has the following salient features: 1. Encompasses all major aspects of beneficial and commercial insects. 2. Deals with edible insects and mass culture of natural enemies and beneficial insects. 3. Emphasis on the mass cultivation of beneficial insects for obtaining yields. 4. Discusses stingless bees and their products. 5. Helps to solve the problem of food scarcity and improve food security.

This book covers pot-pollen—the other product, besides honey, stored in cerumen pots by Meliponini. Critical assessment is given of stingless bee and pot-pollen biodiversity in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania. Topics addressed include historical biogeography, cultural knowledge, bee foraging behavior, pollination, ecological interactions, health applications, microbiology, the natural history of bee nests, and chemical, bioactive and individual plant components in stored pollen. Pot-pollen maintains the livelihoods of stingless bees and provides many interesting biological products that are just now beginning to be understood. The Meliponini have developed particular nesting biologies, uses of building materials, and an architecture for pollen storage. Environmental windows provide optimal temperature and availability of pollen sources for success in plant pollination and pollen storage. Palynological composition and pollen taxonomy are used to assess stingless honey bee pollination services. Pollen processing with microorganisms in the nest modifies chemical composition and bioactivity, and confers nutraceutical benefits to the honey and pollen widely relished by native people. Humans have always used stingless bees. Yet, sustainable meliponiculture (stingless bee-keeping) projects have so far lacked a treatise on pot-pollen, which experts provide in this transdisciplinary, groundbreaking volume.

Major crops are treated in detail, covering breeding, ecophysiology, cultivation practices, and pests and diseases. Properties such as economics, production trends, nutritional aspects, chemical and technological features are provided for each group of plants. The book includes an extensive bibliography.

Successful reproduction is the basis not only for the stability of the species in their natural habitat but also for productivity of our crop plants. Therefore, knowledge on reproductive ecology of wild and cultivated plants is important for effective management of our dwindling biodiversity and for the sustainability and improvement of the yield in crop species. Conservation and management of our plant diversity is going to be a major challenge in the coming decades, particularly in the tropical countries which are rich in biodiversity. Reproductive failure is the main driver for pushing a large number of tropical species to vulnerable category. Available data on reproductive ecology on tropical species is very limited and there is an urgent need to initiate research on these lines. A major limitation for the beginners to take up research is the absence of simple concise work manuals that provide step-wise procedures to study all aspects of reproductive ecology. The Manual fills this void. Over 60 protocols described in the manual cover the whole spectrum of reproductive ecology - study sites and species, phenology, floral morphology and sexuality, pollen and pistil biology, pollination ecology, breeding system, seed biology, seed dispersal and seedling recruitment. Each chapter gives a concise conceptual account of the topic before describing the protocols. The Manual caters to researchers, teachers and students who are interested in any aspect of reproductive ecology of flowering plants -- botanists, ecologists, agri-horticulturists, foresters, entomologists, plant breeders and conservation biologists.