Managed Africanized honey bees and native stingless bees increase Arabica coffee yields in southeastern Brazil

ABSTRACT Using managed pollinators to supplement the contributions of wild pollinators is a promising means to increase crop production and rural livelihoods sustainably. However, evidence of the efficacy of managed pollinators must be provided for many crops, especially in tropical regions. Herein,...

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Main Authors: Joyce Mayra Volpini Almeida-Dias, Alistair John Campbell, Diego Moure-Oliveira, Denise Araujo Alves, Fernando Celso Longhim Quenzer, Jenifer Dias Ramos, Carlos Pamplona Rehder, Guilherme Jorge Gomes de Sousa, Andresa Aparecida Berretta, Cristiano Menezes
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidade de São Paulo 2025-05-01
Series:Scientia Agricola
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Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-90162025000100701&lng=en&tlng=en
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author Joyce Mayra Volpini Almeida-Dias
Alistair John Campbell
Diego Moure-Oliveira
Denise Araujo Alves
Fernando Celso Longhim Quenzer
Jenifer Dias Ramos
Carlos Pamplona Rehder
Guilherme Jorge Gomes de Sousa
Andresa Aparecida Berretta
Cristiano Menezes
author_facet Joyce Mayra Volpini Almeida-Dias
Alistair John Campbell
Diego Moure-Oliveira
Denise Araujo Alves
Fernando Celso Longhim Quenzer
Jenifer Dias Ramos
Carlos Pamplona Rehder
Guilherme Jorge Gomes de Sousa
Andresa Aparecida Berretta
Cristiano Menezes
author_sort Joyce Mayra Volpini Almeida-Dias
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Using managed pollinators to supplement the contributions of wild pollinators is a promising means to increase crop production and rural livelihoods sustainably. However, evidence of the efficacy of managed pollinators must be provided for many crops, especially in tropical regions. Herein, we introduced managed colonies, including Africanized honey bees (Apis mellifera) and native stingless bees (Scaptotrigona spp.), in 23 coffee fields across a gradient of native forest cover in southeastern Brazil. We found coffee yield per bush increased by 16 % in coffee fields near managed colonies compared to more distant control fields. We detected positive effects for both managed bee species, though with higher variability for the native bee species due to low replication. Our study provides robust evidence that supplementing coffee farms with managed bee colonies can increase coffee yields and should stimulate further research and investment in bee supplementation.
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publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Universidade de São Paulo
record_format Article
series Scientia Agricola
spelling doaj-art-ee9f6dc34261461bbcbcd70edd2a289e2025-08-20T01:57:01ZengUniversidade de São PauloScientia Agricola1678-992X2025-05-018210.1590/1678-992x-2023-0049Managed Africanized honey bees and native stingless bees increase Arabica coffee yields in southeastern BrazilJoyce Mayra Volpini Almeida-Diashttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1916-5887Alistair John Campbellhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8163-6737Diego Moure-Oliveirahttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-4266-0501Denise Araujo Alveshttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6525-427XFernando Celso Longhim Quenzerhttps://orcid.org/0009-0001-3781-2913Jenifer Dias Ramoshttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3424-5893Carlos Pamplona Rehderhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0252-9437Guilherme Jorge Gomes de Sousahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9378-3993Andresa Aparecida Berrettahttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5719-1301Cristiano Menezeshttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8473-6298ABSTRACT Using managed pollinators to supplement the contributions of wild pollinators is a promising means to increase crop production and rural livelihoods sustainably. However, evidence of the efficacy of managed pollinators must be provided for many crops, especially in tropical regions. Herein, we introduced managed colonies, including Africanized honey bees (Apis mellifera) and native stingless bees (Scaptotrigona spp.), in 23 coffee fields across a gradient of native forest cover in southeastern Brazil. We found coffee yield per bush increased by 16 % in coffee fields near managed colonies compared to more distant control fields. We detected positive effects for both managed bee species, though with higher variability for the native bee species due to low replication. Our study provides robust evidence that supplementing coffee farms with managed bee colonies can increase coffee yields and should stimulate further research and investment in bee supplementation.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-90162025000100701&lng=en&tlng=enApis melliferaApiniMeliponinicrop pollinationpollinator supplementation
spellingShingle Joyce Mayra Volpini Almeida-Dias
Alistair John Campbell
Diego Moure-Oliveira
Denise Araujo Alves
Fernando Celso Longhim Quenzer
Jenifer Dias Ramos
Carlos Pamplona Rehder
Guilherme Jorge Gomes de Sousa
Andresa Aparecida Berretta
Cristiano Menezes
Managed Africanized honey bees and native stingless bees increase Arabica coffee yields in southeastern Brazil
Scientia Agricola
Apis mellifera
Apini
Meliponini
crop pollination
pollinator supplementation
title Managed Africanized honey bees and native stingless bees increase Arabica coffee yields in southeastern Brazil
title_full Managed Africanized honey bees and native stingless bees increase Arabica coffee yields in southeastern Brazil
title_fullStr Managed Africanized honey bees and native stingless bees increase Arabica coffee yields in southeastern Brazil
title_full_unstemmed Managed Africanized honey bees and native stingless bees increase Arabica coffee yields in southeastern Brazil
title_short Managed Africanized honey bees and native stingless bees increase Arabica coffee yields in southeastern Brazil
title_sort managed africanized honey bees and native stingless bees increase arabica coffee yields in southeastern brazil
topic Apis mellifera
Apini
Meliponini
crop pollination
pollinator supplementation
url http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-90162025000100701&lng=en&tlng=en
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