Forest remnants enhance wild pollinator visits to cashew flowers and mitigate pollination deficit in NE Brazil

by Breno M. Freitas, Alípio J. S. Pacheco Filho, Patrícia B. Andrade, Camila Q. Lemos, Epifânia E. M. Rocha, Natália O. Pereira, Antonio D. M. Bezerra, David S. Nogueira, Ramayanno L. Alencar, Roberto F. Rocha, Keniesd S. Mendonça

Centris flavifrons on cashew flowers in Brazil.

The cashew nut is one of the most traded nuts in the world and important source of income to small holders in tropical countries of Central and South America, Africa and Asia. But there is evidence that pollination deficit is causing low yields in cashew (Anacardium occidentale) and it is possible that deforestation surrounding cashew plantations may prevent effective pollinators from visiting cashew flowers and contribute to this deficit. In the present work, we investigated the proximity effect of small and large forest fragments on the abundance and flower visits by feral Apis mellifera and wild native pollinators to cashew flowers and their interactions with yield in cashew plantations in NE Brazil. 

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Read the scientific publication in JPE.