A decline in bee populations coupled with poor pollination performance is reducing agricultural yields. The North American bee-keeping and pollination industry, in particular, is under threat.
Crop plants reproduce by several types of pollination.
Without adequate pollination, crop yields for both growers and seed breeders can decline drastically and even lead to food shortages - posing a challenge to scientists to find solutions. The technique involves the use of aerodynamic and electrostatic forces to increase the amount of pollen deposits on flower stigma. The pollen deposits are transported to the stigma using an electric charge. Previous methods of artificial pollination have involved placing pollen dispensers at the entrance of hives, or dusting pure or diluted pollen manually or mechanically onto flowers. Another technique involves spraying flowers with pollen suspended in several aqueous solutions including pure water.