New Evidence Shows Positive Impact of Pollinators on Soybean Production

While soybeans are largely self-pollinating crops, insects play a crucial role in enhancing their yield and quality, according to recent research. This was a key focus at the "Pollination in Soybean Agroecosystems" event held at the INTA Marcos Juárez Experimental Agricultural Station in Córdoba, Argentina.

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Biological pollination, and also precision pollination, have a very big impact on agricultural production.

Pablo Cavigliasso, a researcher at INTA Marcos Juárez, emphasized that incorporating biological pollination services into agricultural management represents a process technology with significant potential for productivity gains. He noted that approximately 70% of economically important crops worldwide depend on pollination to some extent for optimal yield and product quality. This service, though not yet standard in Argentina's extensive cultivation practices, offers substantial opportunities for improvement, particularly in systems dominated by soybeans and other oilseeds like sunflower, safflower, carinata, camelina, and rapeseed.

Cavigliasso estimated the potential economic impact of pollination on Argentine exports at $4.4 trillion. For soybeans alone, this ecosystem service contributes about 0.22% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to annual exports. Field trials have shown average yield increases of nearly 30% in soybeans, with even higher gains in other oilseeds like carinata, rapeseed, safflower, and sunflower, and around 50% in camelina. Additionally, improvements in oleic acid content, ranging from 5% to 6%, have been recorded in several of these crops.

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We have many hectares of crops and very few pollinators to supply all that area.

A primary obstacle to fully realizing this potential is the degradation of natural environments, leading to a scarcity of pollinators. Leonardo Amarilla, a researcher from the Multidisciplinary Institute of Plant Biology (IMBIV) and professor at FCEFyN-UNC, highlighted the importance of "green infrastructure", such as forest fragments, biological corridors, grasslands, and floodplains, in agricultural landscapes for supporting pollination. His team's analysis of 58 agricultural establishments in central and the Pampas regions of Argentina quantified the extent of green infrastructure around crop fields, demonstrating its direct link to pollination benefits.

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By green infrastructure, we understand all those spaces in the agricultural landscape that contain biodiversity, such as forest fragments, biological corridors, grasslands, or floodplains.