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Plant & Food Research scientists and collaborators from the USA have compiled more than 30 years of field-based data from kiwifruit research to create “digital twins” of pollination processes in kiwifruit orchards, and have used these to predict how growers can optimise their fruit set.

Digital twins are virtual replicas of physical systems – in this case mathematical models of the biology of the plants and the behaviour of pollinating bees. These digital twins give researchers the ability to examine complex scenarios which examine multiple, intertwined factors at once. These types of trials are difficult or impossible to test in field – running a full combination of even six variables would require more kiwifruit orchards than exist in New Zealand.

Using this digital twin, the researchers predict that optimal fruit set is achieved with 60-75 % female flowers in the orchard; something that growers can achieve by select pruning of male flowers. Most pollination benefit is gained from the first 6-8 honey bees/1000 flowers, with diminishing returns thereafter. The research suggests that fruiting success is more sensitive to variation in plant traits and the female-to-male flower ratio than bee density, provided this minimum density is achieved.

Dr David Pattemore, pollination scientist at Plant & Food Research and leader of the research team, says, “This digital twin allows us to achieve something we couldn’t have done before – simultaneous testing of the plant-based factors and the pollinator-based factors. It now provides us with a platform to test many more questions and develop recommendations for growers that can be confirmed in field trials.

“The prediction should give kiwifruit growers confidence that what they have been practicing is more or less on the right track. The model provides strategies for improving crop management, such as selection of male and female cultivars which have their peak bloom at the same time, establishing the right balance of female to male flowers in the orchard and placing the sufficient numbers of hives to maintain more than 6 bees per 1000 flowers in the orchard to optimise yield.”

The project is part of a wider programme to develop digital twins for pollination, using a range of different modelling approaches to investigate how different pollination factors interact and influence kiwifruit production. Although initially designed to investigate honey bees pollinating kiwifruit vines, the models can be adapted to suit a wide range of crop species and pollinators. The team is currently working to scale up the model to investigate more complex questions such as the influence of diverse pollinator species and the effect of the spatial layout of orchards. These digital twins could potentially be used as the foundation for the development of decision support tools for growers, to guide their orchard and pollination management to optimise yields.

The paper titled “Orchard layout and plant traits influence fruit yield more strongly than pollinator behaviour and density in a dioecious crop” has been published in PLOS.

A brand new beverage of tea, honey and botanicals is being pioneered in Wales

Cardiff University is joining forces with Welsh Brew Tea and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board to combine honey with the health promoting properties of tea.

An iconic Welsh brand established for over 30 years, Swansea-based Welsh Brew Tea has created a unique blend of African and Indian teas specifically blended to complement Welsh water, and a range of speciality teas and infusions.

“We are delighted to be teaming up with Professor Les Baillie and his @pharmabees team at Cardiff University to develop an entirely new premium beverage that will enhance our range of high-quality teas,” said the company’s managing director and founder, Alan Wenden.

“Innovation in tea production, and the search for new ideas and tastes, led us to found the company twenty years ago, and is still its driving force today. The project is a nice example of the university working with Welsh industry to develop a product based on the natural bounty of Wales, supporting the wellbeing of the people of Wales.”

The bees work for Cardiff University’s award-winning @pharmabees project, which aims to develop a Manuka-style honey to treat antibiotic resistant hospital pathogens.

Professor Les Baillie, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, said: “After water, tea is the most commonly consumed beverage in the world. In addition to making us feel good, tea is thought to help reduce the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, arthritis and diabetes. In laboratory studies, tea has revealed its ability to kill hospital superbugs such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile.

“Imagine the further benefits which could be obtained by combining tea with natural honey and medicinal plants. Honey has been used for thousands of years to treat a range of conditions, including the common cold”.

“Our partnership with Welsh Brew Tea is all part of our work to develop honey with similar bug-killing powers to that of New Zealand’s Manuka honey and its antibacterial properties, which are due to natural compounds donated by the plants on which the bees fed to make the honey.”

Robyn Davies, Head of Innovation at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board said: “We are delighted to add this project to our portfolio of innovations that support both the health and wealth of Wales.”

The Welsh Brew project is supported by the South East Wales Academic Health Science Partnership and a Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarship (KESS 2), funded by European Social Funds (ESF) through Welsh Government with the aim of linking companies with academic expertise to develop new products.

It follows the successful launch of honey beer in 2017 when Cardiff teamed up with Bridgend’s BangOn Brewery.