The role of wind pollination in crop plants

Publication date: 19/12/2022
Extent: 10 pages

Contributions by: Stephen Murphy, University of Waterloo, Canada

Chapter synopsis:

This chapter reflects on the early transition from wind-pollinated species (especially Poaceae) into crop species and the current state of wind-pollination in agricultural pollination networks. It then provides a short review of the evolution and biomechanics of wind pollination to establish why humans moved away from open pollination. A more deep exploration of the relative importance (or lack thereof) in crops like Zea, Triticum, Oryza, and Secale follows, as does a focus on the extant risk of heterospecific pollen transfer to wind-pollinated weeds. The chapter also discusses the role of anthropogenic climate change on wind-pollinated crops and the future and relative importance of wind-pollination in widespread and niche crops. The chapter ends with a case example of how one might create a ‘win-win’ in terms of conservation and restoration of natural habitats to promote wind-pollination in farming.

DOI: 10.19103/AS.2022.0111.07