The cotton plant, which produces large flowers that later develop into the white fiber for which it is known, is able to produce cotton without pollinators to a certain extent, mostly by using its own pollen. However, by introducing pollinators, the pollen from one plant is spread to others, and this increases cotton yield significantly.
Increasing the diversity of pollinator species, including bees, flies and butterflies, can dramatically increase cotton production, says to a new study by The University of Texas at Austin, The researchers estimate that in South Texas, the region they studied, increasing the diversity of pollinators could boost cotton production by up to 18 #
One key reason that a large diversity of pollinators is beneficial is that cotton blooming does not perfectly coincide with the most active times of the European honeybee, one of the most common pollinator species. Therefore, having a variety of native pollinators would allow more pollen distribution — a necessary step in production of the harvestable cotton bolls, the study said. (SH)
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