Researchers are banding together to address the issue of dwindling insect populations and its effect on the agricultural industry.
The AGRI4POL project includes researchers from 13 countries who are exploring the idea of making crops more attractive to pollinators, such as wild bees and butterflies, as a report shared by Phys.org explained.
"In doing so, we aim for a win-win situation for both farmers and insects," research associate Andries Temme from Wageningen University & Research noted.
Pollinators, which include a variety of creatures from bees to bats, are instrumental in 35% of global crop production and play some role in helping propagate 75% of crops that produce fruits and seeds that humans consume, according to the World Economic Forum.
Unfortunately, plant breeders have ignored what attracts pollinators to plants, per the report.
"As a result, insects prefer wildflowers over crops in agricultural and horticultural sectors, and those wildflowers are becoming scarcer," said Temme.
Climate change and modern farming practices have also played a major role in the decline in insect populations. Natural habitats have been replaced by large fields dedicated to monoculture crops, which lack the biodiversity that pollinators desire.
"This creates a one-sided food supply for pollinators and a lack of suitable nesting sites, making it difficult for them to survive and reproduce in agricultural areas," added Thijs Fijen, also from the university.
"This not only leads to unbalanced ecosystems, but also reduces the yields of crops that depend on insects for pollination," Fijen continued.
The AGRI4POL project wants farmers to improve the attractiveness of their agricultural crops so that they can contribute to improving insect numbers, rather than their decline.
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Several hours a week 🧑🌾 "We see differences in attractiveness between varieties of the same crops, but we don't yet know exactly why that is," Fijen shared.
"Is it because of the amount of nectar? The proteins in the pollen? The volatiles with which flowers lure pollinators? Or perhaps visual cues, such as UV stripes on petals, guiding insects where to go? We intend to explore all these elements."
To achieve this, some of the researchers' French colleagues are focusing on the interactions between pollinators and two specific crops: sunflowers and broad beans. They're using cameras to monitor the numbers of insects visiting certain plants, their travel patterns, and preferences.
"We then use artificial intelligence to analyse these images. This represents an entirely new approach to studying cultivated crops," Temme explained.
Fijen added that farmers should try using variations of the same crop or pair multiple crops together to create a more tempting environment for pollinators so that everyone can benefit.
"The new approach is an important step towards promoting biodiversity and offers an opportunity to reverse the negative trend into a positive one, where farmers and nature reinforce each other," Fijen concluded.
This is one of several emerging steps to enhance agriculture and food security.
Agrivoltaics, for example, combine solar power installations with actual farms, and one such facility recently added beehives to help pollinate the crops underneath the solar panels.
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