Male trees where fig wasps reproduce had one to three crops. Fig pollination is a consequence of the complex symbiotic relationship of the host and agaonid wasp blastophaga psenes l. The act of pollination is the prelude to the beginning of a new generation that starts with double fertilization. Figs entered by pollen free fig wasps were more likely to abort. Pollination and other biotic interactions in figs of ficus eximia schott. Here we report genetic data demonstrating the coexistence of previously undetected cryptic fig wasp species in at least half of. A research from scientists at the university of leeds, uk, has found that the tiny fig wasps that pollinate fig trees can travel over 160km in less than 48 hours, and are transporting pollen ten times further than previously recorded for any insect. Integrative comparative analyses of tissuespecific transcript and hormone levels in both pollinated and parthenocarpic fig fruit were employed to unravel the similarities and differences in regulatory processes during fig fruit ripening.
This remarkable feat is achieved by homing in on host treespecific volatiles, a chemical signal released by the fig when it is receptive for pollination. Figs will grow in many types of soils, but they need a site free of rootknot nematodes. If youd like to try growing an unusual fruit crop thats delicious and nearly trouble free, consider figs. Article full text enhanced pdf format, 409866 bytes article sharing repository deposits questions. Selfpollination, or more exactly almost full selfpollination, is the principle mating system found in grain crops and in many vegetables. Pollinate article about pollinate by the free dictionary. Phenological adaptations in ficus tikoua exhibit convergence with. Fig trees are rarely propagated by chip or patch budding or by whip, side, inlay or cleft grafting.
The workshop on pollinators and pollination held in mabula, south africa, in may 2003, was organised to address major questions in the area of animal pollination. My sister disagreed and now my research says all figs are pollinated by a wasps. Cross pollination happens more often than self pollination. Avid fig growers in cold climates actually dig up the root ball, lay the tree in a mulching ditch, and cover with their preferred compost or mulch. The anthers in fig flowers do not mature at the same tim. In 2007 i ordered three persistent caprifigs dfic 6, dfic 8 enderud, and dfic 126 caprifig q. Foundress numbers and the timing of selective events during.
Reconstructing the phylogeny of figs ficus, moraceae to. Observation of the bee and a lesson on the relationship of bees and the fast plants flower in pollination could take one 50 minute class period. This overview will present information on pollination in ficus and edible fig culture. Do not plant fig trees close to rapidgrowing plants such as mulberry, chinaberry, hackberry, elm, black locust, and privet because these plants will use water and nutrients needed by the fig trees. A tale of loyalty and betrayal, starring figs and wasps. Under these circumstances, it is unlikely that pollen deposited on the body surface of the wasp could be effectively introduced into the receptive figs. The female fig varieties are classified under 3 groups in respect to their fruit bearing and setting requirements. Learning objectives in participating in this activity students will. The fig growers goal is for only one wasp to enter each fig. Caducous figs, including smyrna, calimyrna and marabout require a tiny wasp to crawl inside and perform pollination. In contrast to crosspollination, both these reproductive systems are effective in bringing about immediate fixation of desired genotypes. Pdf active pollination, although rare, has been documented in a few pollination mutualisms.
Since the opening is not needed for the fig wasp, it has been possible to select for figs that have closed or plugged eye. Ficus eximia is pollinated by a single fig wasp species, pegoscapus sp. Pdf why do fig wasps actively pollinate monoecious figs. Figs and figpollinating wasps oxford academic journals. Successful pollination results in the production of healthy fruit and fertile seeds, allowing plants to reproduce. In view of this obstacle to pollination and aware of the advanced mechanisms for pollen transport in other. Pdf pollen transfer and pollination in the common fig ficus carica. The common fig ficus carica is a gynodioecious species with bisexual trees functional male caprifigs and unisexual female trees. Some time back i listened to a radio caller asking about wasps that pollinate figs. In addition, the incidence of internal defects incited by. The pollinating wasps are part of an obligate nursery pollination mutualism with the fig tree, while the non pollinating wasps feed off the plant without benefiting it. A c t i v i t y making beesticks, pollinating and observing pollen introduction as their plants come into flower, students need to be prepared to pollinate.
Summary the traditional ideas, as to how pollination is achieved in the common fig ficus carica l. Based on what i heard, i told my sister that the wasps only pollinate the mission figs that grow in california. These seven insect pollinators arent bees or butterflies, but they still play a vital role in nature. Pollen transfer and pollination in the common fig ficus carica l. Contrary to many authors, sex determination in ficus carica is not the xxxy method suggested for mosses, cottonwoods and willows and the method in most.
Details for fig propagation are included in the university of. Pollination of the pistillate fig flowers ficus spp. The pollination will require one 50 minute class period. Figs also call into question other ideas about tropical diversity. Pollen transfer and pollination in the common fig 165 barely visible. The area covered by pollinatordependent crops has increased by more than 300 percent. Common figs produce fruit parenthocarpically, without any pollination. To breed common fig trees, it is necessary to use persistent caprifigs. Without fig wasps, there would be a very low likelihood of figs in the wild. Phylogeny and evolution of lifehistory strategies in the. Fig cultivars are divided into four types according to their pollination requirement called capri. For reproduction, fig wasps depend on the ovaries of figs in which their larvae develop 34.
The common fig is indigenous to an area extending from asiatic turkey to northern india and is cultivated in warm climates. Figs entered by pollenfree fig wasps were more likely to abort. The fig species that impose strict punishment instill meticulous pollination habits in their wasp populations by aborting figs with greater frequency. The act of pollination occurs when pollen grains are moved between two flowers of the same species by wind or animals. The ultimate challenge how fig trees are pollinated. Pdf the relationship between fig trees and their pollinator fig wasps is one of the best known. Furthermore, in those figs that did not abort, there were fewer pollinator progeny than in. Seed and wasp production in the mutualism of figs and fig wasps.
A female fig wasps enters a male fig at this point, the females antennae and wings break off, so there is no escaping once theyre in. Wind pollination is principally a phenomenon of plants in open spaces. Tissuespecific transcriptome and hormonal regulation of. Fig pollinating wasps have provided model systems for developing and testing theories of the evolution of mutualism, sex allocation, and precision of adaptation. Fig ficus carica plants are self pollinating deciduous trees.
Publication date 1995 topics fig pollination collection. If you plant fig trees in a lawn, keep a 2 to 3foot area around each tree free of grass for a year or two until the tree becomes established. Negotiating the ostiole is no easy task, with the female wasp having to squeeze and labour her way between the tightly closed bracts. Pollen transfer and pollination in the common fig 167 and stood out against the background of the wasps body. Figs are pollinated by fig flies, tiny flying insects which enter the ovaries of developing figs after picking up pollen from flowers other than the one they are pollinating. Each fig tree species ficus is totally dependent on a specific species of wasp for pollination and the larvae of these wasps only develop in the ovules o. When the female flowers inside the immature fruit are ready for pollination the fig emits an enticing aroma that attracts only female wasps of the specific type for that tree. The ultimate challenge how fig trees are pollinated by simon van noort, iziko south african museum. The smyrna fig was brought to california in 188182 but it was not until 1900 that the wasp was introduced to serve as the pollinating agent and make commercial fig culture possible. The infructescence is pollinated by a symbiosis with a fig wasp blastophaga psenes. Inside the rounded fruit of a fig tree is a maze of flowers. You could have a fig plant that requires cross pollination by a special wasp.
The pollination system in figs permits species to exist at extremely low densities, presumably levels untenable for most other plants, and is thus central to figs ability to form speciose assemblages. Speciesspecificity in fig pollination appears to be extreme compared with. The pollinating wasps are part of an obligate nursery pollination mutualism with the fig tree, while the nonpollinating wasps feed off the plant without benefiting it. Fig fruit is an important food source for much of the fauna in some areas, and the tree owes its expansion to those that feed on its fruit. Figs host three ecologically distinct groups of wasps.
Attempts are made to meet discrepancies between the botanical classification of ficus and the zoological classification of its pollinators. The only link the fig cavity has to the outside world is through a tiny bractlined opening at the apex of the fig, called the ostiole, and it is by means of this passage that the pollinating fig wasp gains access to the florets, as described in figweb, a site by iziko museums of cape town. Speciesspecificity in fig pollination appears to be extreme compared with most other insect pollination mutualisms. Growing and maintaining your fig tree share flipboard email print. Both pollinators and nonpollinators complete their life cycles using fig tissue, while parasitoids appear to attack some. Thus, the fig tree is pollinated only by fig wasps, and the yucca is pollinated only by the yucca moth.
Pollinating wasps carried pollen to the figs in pollen pockets that they had collected naturally as they emerged from their natal figs. Speciation in fig wasps cook 2010 ecological entomology. Most fig species are pollinated by only one or a few wasp species and most wasps are associated with just a single fig species cook and rasplus 2003. Figs can also be propagated from established trees, either by transplanting suckers or by establishing new plants from dormant cuttings in the late fall and transplanting them after one year. Phyto84n11 1254 american phytopathological society. Caprification refers to the pollination of smyna type figs, such as the calimyrna variety. Figs are selffruitful, so you need only one plant to produce fruit. Fig trees usually bear 2 crops a year, the early season breba fruits being inferior and frequently too acid, and only those of the second, or main, crop of actual value.
It was found that, while the clean sing process thoroughly removed the pollen from the surface of the body, pollen still re mained within the intersegmental folds plate 1, fig. Protect the roots of containergrowing figs by moving them indoors or transplant them to a frost free area when temperatures fall below 20 degrees f. These fig wasps are the sole pollinators of fig trees and in turn, fig wasps can breed nowhere else but inside figs, a relationship that is a classic example of an obligate mutualism neither party can survive without the other that has evolved over the last 60 or so million years. Pdf the benefits of pollination for a fig wasp researchgate. Smyrna fig is grown commercially on great acreage in california. Negotiating the ostiole is no easy task, with the female. Luscious sweet figs are among the oldest cultivated fruits, prized for their honeyed flavor and soft, jammy texture. Each fig species partners with a few species of these small, pollinating wasps to produce seeds. Though the lives of individual species differ, a typical pollinating fig wasp life cycle is as follows. A single fig species has one to four pollinator species and also hosts up to 30 non. There are three main types of cultivated ficus carica. Common figs do not need pollination to ripen fruit. The fruit contains significant amounts of calcium, potassium, phosphorus, and iron. Sex determination is quite unlike other dioecious species, such as willows, marijuana, fruit flies and people.
From my limited research i know that brown turkey, celeste and chicago hardy are self pollinating. Thus, the tiny gallwasp is not needed to form fig fruits, although no seeds are produced if pollination doesnt occur. How to grow figs planting and caring for fig trees. Perhaps most difficult of all is to see the data for what they are, free of ones own wishes. It recommends natural pollination fig wasp when the figs are between 38 and 1 inch in size very small. Species specificity in fig pollination appears to be extreme compared with. The fruit of both edible and inedible figs contains numerous ovaries and is called a syconium fig.
Article full text enhanced pdf format, 409866 bytes article sharing repository deposits. In the case of the common fig, the flowers are all female and need no pollination. Pdf pollen transfer and pollination in the common fig. These figs are ready to drop, apparently handpollinated figs cant be pollinated at that small a size with the procedure that im using. Fig trees remain productive up to 12 or 15 years of age and thereafter the crop declines though the trees may live to a very advanced age. Completion of this journey is the first test of endurance, as once the pollinator has located a receptive fig, she needs to circumvent the next barrier. All five fig taxa are functionally dioecious, freestanding trees, and.
Fig, plant of the mulberry family moraceae and its edible fruit. The common fig tree also sprouts from the root and stolon tissues. I know a lot of people will disagree with me after i researched how the poor wasp pollinates the fig i am hesitant to bite one fig. A tale of loyalty and betrayal, starring figs and wasps bbc. Some species of fig trees, including many modern cultivars of common figs, will develop their syconia into fleshy fruits without pollination or fertilization, a situation known botanically as parthenocarpy. Their role in attracting pollinators and maintaining. Pdf molecular phylogenies of fig pollinating and non. The life cycles of the two groups, however, are very similar. If this is the case, then it will never set a good. The ovaries of smyrna figs have longer styles that prevent the wasp from depositing eggs at the proper site. Traditional classification of ficus based on morphology and preliminary taxonomic implications of the present study. Obtain disease free fig trees of verified cultivars from reputable sources. Contact your county agent for information about testing your soil for nematodes.
The most notable wasp pollinators are the fig wasps, which pollinate the tiny flowers inside the developing fig fruit. An internet myth posits that the crunchiness of fig newtons comes from wasp eggs but, in truth, fig wasps are digested away by fig. Fig trees and fig wasps are partners in life, but sometimes the trees betray their closest allies. Smyrna figs do need pollination to ripen fruit, and so need to be grown in a mild area that supports the pollinating wasp. Reconstructing the phylogeny of figs ficus, moraceae to reveal. Pollination can happen in one of two ways, including self pollination and cross pollination. Figs are harvested for both fresh consumption and processing. Agaonidae, agaoninae, but also visited by other 14 non pollinating. These trees will grow well unprotected in zones 8 to 10, and also in colder areas if. The traditional ideas, as to how pollination is achieved in the common fig ficus carica l.
In this study we present the hormonal regulation of the unusual climacteric fig fruit type during the ripening. Fig production guide alabama cooperative extension system. Backyard gardener the secret life of figs august 11, 2010. Jun 22, 2011 they oviposit into the fig flowers a few days before fig pollination direct demonstration for a. Pollination happens when the plants male reproductive system creates pollen, which is moved to the female reproductive system. Why do fig wasps actively pollinate monoecious figs. Though the lives of individual species differ, a typical pollinating fig.
Monoecious fig species and their pollinating wasps are in conflict over the use of fig ovaries which can either produce one seed or one wasp. Some plants are pollinated only by those insects whose cycle of development is closely related to the rhythm of development of these plants. The pollination syndrome of the common fig ficus carica l. They produce edible fruit that are delicious eaten right from the tree or used for preserves, dried fruit snacks, juice and in. With few exceptions, previous studies have assumed one species of pollinator wasp per host fig species. Smyrna figs require pollen transfer from male trees that produce small caprifigs for. Oct 04, 2016 since fig flowers do not bloom in a way that they can count on bees or wind for the purpose of spreading pollen, they need to rely on fig wasps instead. From virginia, fig culture spread to the carolinas, georgia, florida, alabama, mississippi, louisiana and texas. Cross pollination an overview sciencedirect topics. The wasps coming from spring crop enter the developing smyrna figs and affect pollination. Plants and animals have coevolved over millions of years, since the cretaceous period.
597 1266 235 772 546 546 410 1441 424 701 508 724 895 435 1189 396 1248 825 955 1208 1374 1435 982 1106 532 1338 208 591 833 825 321