The role of crop-pollinator relationships in breeding for pollinator-friendly legumes: from a breeding perspective

Abstract

Breeders are encouraged to develop breeding approaches that strive to integrate food production into the healthy functioning of agro-ecosystems. In the case of legumes, this approach should preserve bee fauna by providing suitable floral resources within the crops themselves. In parallel, legume breeding for sustainable agriculture is linked to the development of environmental services. Foraging places and nesting sites for solitary and social bees are some of the ecological services provided for legumes. Crops with floral attractiveness and rewards for insects can be used to enhance pollinator conservation as well as crop yield and yield stability. We analyze how understanding crop-pollinator relationships (CPR) can contribute to the production of high-yielding and pollinator-friendly varieties by examining: (1) The status of knowledge on mating systems and floral traits; (2) The contribution of CPR understanding to plant breeding for both hybrid-seed production and open-pollinated population improvement.