Jaime A. Collazo
P.C. Stevenson
R.E. Irwin
S.G. Prado
2019
<div id="Abs1-section" class="c-article-section"><div id="Abs1-content" class="c-article-section__content"><p>Floral traits and rewards are important in mediating interactions between plants and pollinators. Agricultural management practices can affect abiotic factors known to influence floral traits; however, our understanding of the links between agricultural practices and floral trait expression is still poorly understood. Variation in floral morphological, nectar, and pollen traits of two important agricultural species,<span> </span><i>Coffea arabica</i><span> </span>and<span> </span><i>C. canephora</i>, was assessed under different agricultural practices (sun and shade). Corolla diameter and corolla tube length were larger and pollen total nitrogen content greater in shade plantations of<span> </span><i>C. canephora</i><span> </span>than sun plantations. Corolla tube length and anther filament length were larger in shade plantations of<span> </span><i>C. arabica</i>. No effect of agricultural practice was found on nectar volume, sugar or caffeine concentrations, or pollen production. Pollen total nitrogen content was lower in sun than shade plantations of<span> </span><i>C. canephora</i>, but no difference was found between sun and shade for<span> </span><i>C. arabica</i>. This study provides baseline data on the influence of agronomic practices on<span> </span><i>C. arabica</i><span> </span>and<span> </span><i>C. canephora</i><span> </span>floral traits and also helps fill a gap in knowledge about the effects of shade trees on floral traits, which can be pertinent to other agroforestry systems.</p></div></div>
application/pdf
10.1038/s41598-019-43753-y
en
Nature
A comparison of coffee floral traits under two different agricultural practices
article