7 Fruits and Vegetables That Depend on Bees

A third of what we eat is pollinated by bees. In addition to playing a vital role in preserving the planet's ecosystems, bees and other pollinators not only help us obtain more fruits, berries or seeds, but also improve the quality of products.

Discover 7 fruits and vegetables that depend on pollination.

Strawberries

The intensity and complexity of their sweet flavor results mainly from pollination.

To reach maturity, a strawberry needs to be pollinated about 21 times. A single strawberry can contain 400 to 500 seeds (or small pips) on its surface. The greater the number of fully developed seeds, the larger, tastier and more well-formed the strawberry will be.

Blueberries

Pollinating insects are said to be responsible for 91% of blueberry pollination, with the rest being mainly by gravity and wind. When the insect visits the flowers, it carries the pollen that is produced by the anthers (male part) of one flower to the stigma (female part) of another flower. The pollen grains will germinate and form a pollen tube that will descend to an ovule that will then be fertilized and produce a seed.

Since it takes several well-fertilized seeds to produce a quality fruit, this process will have to be repeated several times. Each additional seed would be responsible for a 5% increase in the weight of the blueberry.

Cucumbers

Without bees, there would be virtually no cucumber harvest. The introduction of five hives containing about 12,500 bees per 1/15 ha can increase the yields of greenhouse-grown cucumbers by up to 40 percent.

Squash

Typically, squash are pollinated by ground-nesting bees. The female bee collects pollen and nectar from the flowers of cucurbits (such as pumpkins and squashes). They are active very early in the morning and their activity slows down by mid-morning.

Apples

Raw or in an apple pie, they are a real treat, but without bees, the cross-pollination that is essential to produce apples cannot take place on a scale large enough to meet current global demand.

As a general rule, hives should be introduced at the very beginning of flowering. An apple blossom may need to be pollinated four or five times in order to receive enough pollen grains for complete fertilization.

Onions

Bees visit onion flowers to collect nectar and pollen, but only nectar foragers will visit both male-sterile and male-fertile lines in hybrid onion production systems.

Almonds

Even though Quebec doesn't produce almonds, chances are you'll find this protein-rich food in your pantry. Almond farming relies heavily on pollination by honeybees.

Research has shown that the lack of bees and other wild insects to pollinate almonds is more detrimental to crop yields than a lack of fertilizer or water. When almonds are adequately pollinated, the trees produce more fruit and their nutritional content changes, including an increase in vitamin E.

There was a time when nature took care of the pollination of these fruits all by itself. Today, with the increase in the surface area of ​​cultivated fields, the emergence of monocultures and the lack of biodiversity, it is now necessary to move hives to ensure the pollination of crops. A practice that gives food for thought...

• The Dandelion Challenge to the rescue of bees
• Planting flowers to help bees
• How to help bees and other pollinating insects
• Transform your lawn into an eco-lawn

Sources: fao.org and perlebleue.ca