Pollinators of Lingonberries

Graduate student Nikki Davis completed her master's thesis on the pollination biology of lingonberries, lowbush cranberries (Vaccinium vitis-idaea). Is the final summary of her research along with a list of publications and presentations.

Bumble bees (Bombus flavifrons flavifrons, B. frigidus, B. melanopygus, B. sylvicola) are prominent insect visitors of lingonberries in interior Alaska along with Andrenid bees (Andrena sp.) and Halictid bees (Dialectus sp.). Most visitations occurred between 5 A.M. and 6 P.M. despite the nearly 24-hr daylight in June. Visitations might be related to temperature rather than light. Although domestic honey bees (Apis mellifera Carniolan strain) and bumble bees (Bombus sp.) frequently visited lingonberry flowers, establishment of hives near wild stands of lingonberries did not improve fruit set. Wild stands covered with mosquito netting to exclude large insects and reduce wind speeds averaged 4.7 percent fruit set, whereas unscreened controls averaged nearly 40 percent fruit set. The number of seeds per fruit in unscreened plants was at least double that of screened plants. Greenhouse plants subject to controlled wind speeds between 0.2 and 1.4 m s-1 showed no pollen release at anytime during anthesis. Greenhouse-grown flowers buzz pollinated with frequencies ranging from 170 to 740 Hz showed ample pollen release at all frequencies with no trend or correlation toward any one range of frequencies. These experiments show that self pollination probably is not important in lingonberries, and wind speeds frequently encountered in woodland fields of lingonberries are not sufficient to effect pollination. Wind speeds greater than 1.4 m s-1 or vibration by insects will be necessary for adequate pollination of lingonberries. Entomogamy is probably the most important mode of pollination for lingonberries.Impact: This project answers important questions about lingonberry pollination in Alaska and provides direction for growers interested in improving fruit production in wild stands and in cultivated fields. It also shows there are ample wild pollinators to enhance production of lingonberries, and the added expense of importing domestic honey bees and bumble bees is not warranted.

Publications:
Davis, A.N., P. Holloway and J. Kruse. 2003 Insect visitors and potential pollinators of lingonberries, Vaccinium vitis-idaea subsp. minus in sub-arctic Alaska. Acta Horticulturae 626: 441-446

Davis, A.N., P. Holloway and J. Kruse. 2002. Insect visitors and potential pollinators of lingonberries, Vaccinium vitis-idaea subsp. minus in sub-arctic Alaska. XIV International Horticultural Congress. International Society for Horticultural Science. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 11-17 Aug. Poster/Abstr.

Davis, A.N. and P. Holloway. 2001. Pollination biology of lingonberry, Vaccinium vitis-idaea subsp. minus. 4th International Circumpolar Agriculture Conference, Akureryi, Iceland. 26-28 Aug. Poster.

Davis, A.N. 2002. Pollination biology of the lingonberry, Vaccinium vitis-idaea L. subspecies minus (Lodd.) Hult. MS Thesis. University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska.