Wildflower plantings increase citrus grove pollinators

Sunday, November 13, 2022

11:00 AM – 11:12 AM PT

Location: Vancouver Convention Centre, Meeting Room 306

Presenting Author(s)

Angela Chuang

Postdoctoral associate
University of Florida
Lake Alfred, Florida

Co-Author(s)

Xavier Martini

University of Florida
Quincy, Florida
Rachel E. Mallinger

Assistant Professor
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Brett R. Blaauw

Associate Professor
University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia
GK

Gary Knox

Professor
University of Florida
Quincy, Florida
TL

Tracy Liesenfelt

University of Florida
Lake Alfred, Florida
MH

Marek Harrison

University of Florida
Lake Alfred, Florida
Lauren M. Diepenbrock

Professor
University of Florida
Lake Alfred, Florida

Planting wildflowers in and around fields is known to provide food resources and habitats for beneficial arthropods like pollinators and predators of pests. We tested whether planting native Florida wildflowers next to citrus grove windbreaks could improve natural pest control and pollination by increasing the diversity and number of pollinators and arthropod predators in groves. In late 2020, we planted different combinations of native buttonbush, coral honeysuckle, blanket flower by a grove windbreak in both central and northern Florida. Since April 2021, we have sampled arthropods monthly in both these treatment groves as well as control groves containing a windbreak but no flowers. We found more predators in the wildflower groves, but no evidence of increased predation. This may be due to higher pest pressure from an unrelated higher flush density in these treatment groves. Overall, our groves with wildflowers also have more diverse and abundant pollinators near the flower plantings as well as within the groves themselves. Our analyses also considered the effects of existing flowering species in each grove. While commercial honeybees were most often found on Spanish needle, a flowering weed common to groves, native bees were highly attracted to the blanket flowers we planted. This study is ongoing but currently suggests that our flowering treatments are associated with increases in the diversity and abundance of beneficial arthropods. We are investigating whether these effects increase over time as the perennial flowers have more time to establish and flower in higher densities.