Soil Humus, Iron, Sulphate and Magnesium Content Affect Nectar Traits of Wild Garlic (Allium ursinum L.).

Alexandra Bodó,Ágnes Farkas,Richárd Hoffmann,Kinga Rudolf,Tamás Morschhauser,Dávid U Nagy,Marianna Kocsis

doi:10.3390/plants10030597

Alexandra Bodó, Ágnes Farkas + Show 5 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10030597

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Abstract

Recent studies revealed that from various ecological factors influencing nectar yield and quality of a plant, soil properties can be as important as microclimatic features. To date, few studies have investigated the relationship of soil characters to nectar traits of bee pollinated plants growing in natural associations. Our study intended to reveal which soil properties had the most powerful impact on nectar variables of wild garlic (Allium ursinum L.). Specimens were collected from fourteen habitats in two different years, and were potted in their original soil under the same climatic conditions. Nectar volumes and sugar concentrations were measured and soil samples were analysed for fourteen parameters. Statistical analyses revealed that the number of nectar producing Allium flowers, as well as the nectar volume and sugar content of nectar in individual flowers were influenced by both year and habitat. The humus, iron and sulphate content of soil showed negative correlation with the number of flowers producing nectar; total nectar volumes were negatively correlated with humus and iron content, but positively affected by magnesium content of the soil. Our results suggest that in addition to the effect of microclimatic factors, certain soil properties can have significant impact on nectar traits.

Highlights

Environmental factors can have a profound effect on plant performance, characterized by traits like biomass production, chemical composition etc
3.9 to 55.7% in the first and second year of the study, respectively (Table 1). We found that both sampling years and sites, and even their interaction influenced this parameter significantly (Figure 1)
The knowledge of potential nectar yield and composition as the function of microclimatic and edaphic factors is important in the case of nectar sources that provide the basis of large scale honey production, such as black locust

Summary

Introduction

Environmental factors can have a profound effect on plant performance, characterized by traits like biomass production, chemical composition etc. Nectar volume and composition is thought to be influenced by several ecological parameters, such as microclimatic conditions (air temperature, relative air humidity, evapotranspiration, amount of solar radiation, wind speed) and soil features like moisture level, temperature and aeration e.g., [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11]. Forst) cultivars and soils affected plant growth and flowering, and in turn overall nectar yield was influenced by cultivars-soil interaction [12]. The species has been used traditionally both for food and medical purposes, such as lowering blood pressure and cholesterol level [22,23]

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