Integrating hives increases carinata yield by 37%

An INTA investigation confirmed that the planned incorporation of hives in Brassica Carinata lots significantly increases the number of fruits, the number of seeds and the final yield per hectare of this oilseed. The study underscores the importance of pollination as a productive management tool. Preliminary results will be presented at a beekeeping day at INTA Rafaela on February 26.

A trial carried out in Rafaela, Santa Fe, demonstrated the effect of pollinating insects and the incorporation of honey bee hives, which allows the yield of Brassica carinata to be increased by almost 900 kilos per hectare compared to situations where the flowers do not receive visitors.

“The presence of pollinators increased seed yield per unit area by 37%, without affecting fat and protein content,” explained Emanuel Orellano, INTA researcher and one of those responsible for the work.

The research highlights a critical dependency: biotic pollination accounts for between 37% and 40% of the potential income of the flock. These data underline the need to integrate beekeeping activity into agricultural schemes, not only to maximise the supply of raw material, but also to ensure the economic viability and competitiveness of the system.

These results position pollination as a strategic component of agronomic management: when plants were exposed to biotic pollination, the yield climbed to 2,427.9 kilograms per hectare. While, under self-pollination, the average yield was 1,538.8. “Biotic pollination significantly increased all the performance variables evaluated compared to self-pollination: more fruits formed, more seeds per fruit and higher total seed weight per unit area,” explained the researcher.

A relevant fact is that there were no differences in the number of plants per square meter or in the total dry matter between treatments. There were also no significant variations in the crude protein content or etheric extract of the seeds. In other words, the intervention on pollination had a direct impact on the quantity produced, without altering the quality of the grain.

In this sense, the results confirm that, although the crop can produce seeds in the absence of pollinators, self-pollination is insufficient to express its reproductive potential, highlighting its dependence on cross-pollination.

“Biotic pollination has a positive and significant effect on the productivity of Brassica carinata under real production conditions and constitutes a key ecosystem service for agricultural production, particularly in crops with dependence on pollinating insects,” Orellano stressed.

At the same time, he did not hesitate to consider it essential to integrate pollination as a component of the agronomic management of Brassica carinata and a strategic productive input, whose economic contribution fully justifies the implementation of management practices aimed at the conservation of wild pollinators and/or the planned incorporation of Apis mellifera hives managed during the flowering period.

These advances will be part of the contents that will be presented and discussed at a beekeeping conference, which will be held on February 26, at INTA Rafaela, where the results of the trial will be shown and the role of pollination as a productive input in agricultural systems in central Argentina will be addressed.

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