G. Kusumoto
Every third bite of food you eat exists because a pollinator visited a flower.Yet pollination remains one of the most overlooked levers in modern agriculture and gardening. Growers puzzle over misshapen fruit. Orchardists lose harvests to invisible deficits. Beekeepers watch colonies collapse without understanding why. This book changes that.Pollination: The Science, Art, and Practice is a 160-page comprehensive reference for anyone who grows food, manages pollinators, or cares about the future of our food system. Written in clear, practical language, it bridges the gap between academic pollination biology and real-world farm and garden management.What you will learn:• The molecular biology of pollen - structure, viability, germination, and compatibility systems• The full spectrum of pollinators - honeybees, bumblebees, solitary wild bees, hoverflies, butterflies, and wind• Crop-specific pollination management for orchards, vegetables, berries, oilseeds, and greenhouse crops• How to design pollinator-friendly gardens and farm habitats that attract and sustain wild bee communities• The threats facing pollinators today - neonicotinoids, Varroa, habitat loss, and climate change - and practical responses at every scale• Integrated Pollination Management: a systematic framework for optimising natural pollinator performance before relying on managed bees• The future of pollination: robotic pollinators, digital monitoring, breeding for pollinator attractiveness, and landscape-scale restorationWho this book is for:This guide is written for professional agronomists, horticulturalists, orchardists, commercial beekeepers, and serious home gardeners alike. Whether you manage fifty hectares of apple trees or a small urban allotment, the principles here will help you understand what is happening in your flowers - and how to make it work better.Packed with variety compatibility tables, seasonal planting lists, a full glossary of pollination terms, and a detailed index, this is a reference you will return to season after season.The pollination crisis is real. The solutions are practical. This book gives you both.
