Tag : Fertilisers

Oxford (UK): According to a recent Oxford University Press study in PNAS Nexus, agricultural chemicals like fertilisers and pesticides can alter how bees perceive a flower, which in turn decreases the number of bees that visit a flower. For the purpose of encouraging insect eating and pollination, flowers offer a wide variety of cues and attractants. Bees can navigate the environment by using colour, the sun, and magnetic fields. They recognise plants on a smaller scale by using cues like blossom colour and odour, as well as humidity and electric fields. Large-scale spray treatments are a common practice among farmers when it comes to applying chemical combinations, particularly fertilisers, to plants. A significant source of pollution that has been related to declines in the quantity and variety of bee populations is the extensive use of chemicals in horticulture and agriculture. Although many of these compounds have long been known to be hazardous, little is known about how agrochemicals disrupt the direct relationship between plants and pollinators. Flowers' characteristics can change in a variety of ways when sprayed. Many chemicals used in agriculture have an electric charge that is intended to stick to plants. Therefore, spray applications may alter the electric fields that surround a flower. Thus, a key concern is whether the use of agrochemicals can skew floral cues and alter the behaviour of pollinators like bees. Researchers here tested the effect of fertilizer sprays on various floral cues used by bees. They observed that the chemical did not affect vision and smell, but that there was a response in the electric field surrounding the flower. To visualize this, the researchers sprayed cut flowers with positively charged, ...