HSA | Soils and Sustainability

Relationship between floral color and pollinator diversity in Western Kentucky

Academic Level at Time of Presentation

Graduate

Major

Agricultural Sciences

2nd Student Academic Level at Time of Presentation

Faculty/Staff

3rd Student Academic Level at Time of Presentation

Faculty/Staff

List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)

(Megan Taylor)

Presentation Format

Poster Presentation

Abstract/Description

Relationship between floral color and pollinator diversity in Western Kentucky

Laxmi Prasanna Shakamudi and Megan Taylor

Murray State University Hutson School of Agriculture

Pollination is the most important process of sexual reproduction in flowering plants. Pollination takes place through different sources like biotic and abiotic factors. Nearly 90% of global food production depends on pollination which balances the ecosystem in various ways. Pollination through animals is most common in flowering plants. There is a mutual interaction between plants and pollinators which greatly helps in global food production. The current study deals with the color and frequency of pollinator visits. The observations were taken in four different varieties of Zinnias (Zinnia elegans) for four weeks. The four varieties are Zahara (red color bloom), Canary (yellow bloom), Candy Stipes (yellow with stripes and white with stripes), and Purple Price (purple color bloom). The pollinator visitation rate, time of visitation, number of flowers, type of pollinators, and dominant color of the bloom is noted per each variety. From the observation, it has been found that the variety Zahara has a very less pollinator visitation rate compared to Canara, Candy Stripes, and Purple Prince varieties. The pollinator visitation rate is observed more in Purple Prince. Lepidopterans are the most common pollinators recorded except for the Purple Prince. True bugs and Lepidopterans were observed in Purple Prince. There is no difference noticed in the total number of flowers produced over all four varieties. There is another key thing noticed during the study is the climate and weather have an impact on pollinator visitation rate. The visitation rate of pollinators is less on a cloudy day compared with a sunny day. This study concludes that Zinnia color plays a significant role in pollinator visits and diversity in Western, KY.

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Soils and Sustainability

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Relationship between floral color and pollinator diversity in Western Kentucky

Relationship between floral color and pollinator diversity in Western Kentucky

Laxmi Prasanna Shakamudi and Megan Taylor

Murray State University Hutson School of Agriculture

Pollination is the most important process of sexual reproduction in flowering plants. Pollination takes place through different sources like biotic and abiotic factors. Nearly 90% of global food production depends on pollination which balances the ecosystem in various ways. Pollination through animals is most common in flowering plants. There is a mutual interaction between plants and pollinators which greatly helps in global food production. The current study deals with the color and frequency of pollinator visits. The observations were taken in four different varieties of Zinnias (Zinnia elegans) for four weeks. The four varieties are Zahara (red color bloom), Canary (yellow bloom), Candy Stipes (yellow with stripes and white with stripes), and Purple Price (purple color bloom). The pollinator visitation rate, time of visitation, number of flowers, type of pollinators, and dominant color of the bloom is noted per each variety. From the observation, it has been found that the variety Zahara has a very less pollinator visitation rate compared to Canara, Candy Stripes, and Purple Prince varieties. The pollinator visitation rate is observed more in Purple Prince. Lepidopterans are the most common pollinators recorded except for the Purple Prince. True bugs and Lepidopterans were observed in Purple Prince. There is no difference noticed in the total number of flowers produced over all four varieties. There is another key thing noticed during the study is the climate and weather have an impact on pollinator visitation rate. The visitation rate of pollinators is less on a cloudy day compared with a sunny day. This study concludes that Zinnia color plays a significant role in pollinator visits and diversity in Western, KY.