Pollination by Insects Cause Bigger Apples

Cox's Orange Pippin is an apple cultivar first grown in England,

Pollination can occur in several different ways, but usually plants rely on animals or wind to help pollinate them and help distribute their pollen and seeds.However, a new study shows that apple trees produce bigger, rounder, and more desirable fruit when pollinated by insects in particular.

Researchers studied Cox and Gala apples, two popular varieties in Britain, and valued the annual contribution of insects to these fruits at just under £37 million which is about 60 million American dollars.

The research was conducted on six Cox and Gala orchards in UK. At each site, some of the branches were covered with a fine PVC mesh, allowing wind and rain to get through but keeping insects out.
As a result, trees that were left open to bugs yielded both more fruit, and a larger proportion of higher-value class-one apples.

However, unfortunately in the past 30 years, the number of managed honeybee colonies has fallen by more than half. Due to disease outbreaks, pesticide use, and a decline in the number of bee-keepers, bee populations are on the brink of collapse.According to study by PLOS ONE, more than half of European countries no longer have enough honeybees to pollinate their crops.