Measures of cross-pollination and yield production of faba bean (Vicia faba L.) in response to heat stress and insect pollination treatments

Abstract

Datasets relating to two experiments measuring cross-pollination and yield production of faba bean (Vicia faba L, cultivar Wizard) in response to heat stress and insect pollination treatments. This accompanies the paper titled 'Elevated temperature drives a shift from selfing to outcrossing in the insect pollinated legume, faba bean (Vicia faba).' Journal of Experimental Botany. Bishop J, Jones HE, O'Sullivan DM, Potts SG. (In press). Potted faba bean plants were exposed to either heat stress (30/24°C day/night temperature, 16 hour photoperiod) or control (20/14°C) treatments for five days during floral development and anthesis. These plants were then either i) moved to mesh cages that either contained bumblebees or were empty, or ii) moved to two field sites and either left open to allow visitation by wild insect pollinators, or enclosed individually in mesh bags. Cross-pollination was assessed using a morphological marker. Both the mesh cages and field contained pollen donor plants that were homozygous for a dominant 'dark hilum' trait. The experimental plants were homozygous for a recessive 'light hilum' trait. Thus, by observing which colour hila the experimental progeny produced, it was possible to identify individuals that had been sired by the pollen donor plants. Yield production parameters were assessed on the experimental plants at senescence. The effects of individual mesh bags used to exclude insect pollinators in the field experiment were established using two separate experiments. Separate groups of plants were either i) all bagged at the field sites, with a subset of flowers hand pollinated to establish the effect of bagging on yield production per flower while maximizing pollination, or ii) housed within a large mesh cage to exclude all insect pollinators, then either bagged or unbagged at the same time as the field experiment was conducted, with whole plant yield parameters then measured at senescence.