Hi all

Those of us that study pollination effects know that many crops benefit from the services of pollinators. Unfortunately, pollination providers are sometimes at odds with growers, who implement pest control measure which may have a negative impact on the pollinators. Which is more important, pollinators or pest control? Turns out that each has a beneficial effect on crops but the two combined have a synergistic effect which is more than the sum of the two separately.

Excerpts:
> We tested three competing hypotheses on how insect pollination and pest control might jointly affect seed set: independent, compensatory or synergistic effects. For this, we performed a cage experiment with two levels of insect pollination and simulated pest control in red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) grown for seed. There was a synergistic interaction between the two services: the gain in seed set obtained when simultaneously increasing pollination and pest control outweighed the sum of seed set gains obtained when increasing each service separately. 

> Red clover is obligately outcrossed by insect pollinators, mostly bumblebees (Bombus spp.) and honey- bees (Apis mellifera).  Weevils of the genus Apion (Coleoptera: Brentidae), specifically the clover seed weevils A. trifolii L. and A. apricans Hbst., are the major pest insects in European red clover seed production. Proportion of damaged ovules per inflorescence increased when pest control was low. The gain in seed set owing to higher pollination was larger at high pest control 

> We found that the gain in seed set obtained in red clover when simultaneously increasing pollination and pest control outweighed the sum of seed set gains obtained when increasing each service separately.

Lundin O, Smith HG, Rundlo ̈f M, Bommarco R. 2013 When ecosystem services interact: crop pollination benefits depend on the level of pest control. Proc R Soc B 280: 20122243.

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