Visitantes florais e sua eficiência na polinização de Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme em sistema agroflorestal.

Abstract

This study evaluated the community of floral visitors and the efficiency of pollination in cherry tomato cultivation (Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme) grown in an agroforestry system in the municipality of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Biotic pollination is a fundamental ecological process for agricultural production, directly influencing productivity and fruit quality in several crops. The objective was to identify visiting bee species, characterize their interaction with the crop, and assess the influence of biotic pollination on fruit quality. The methodology consisted of a preliminary survey of floral visitors through systematic field observations, followed by an experiment with three pollination treatments: self-pollination, open pollination, and single visitation. Physical and chemical fruit parameters were analyzed, including length, mass, number of seeds, and soluble solids content, using ANOVA or a t-test to compare treatments and visitor species. The results indicated a high diversity of bees in the agroforestry system, with Paratrigona lineata and Exomalopsis sp. being the most frequent species. Pollination mediated by floral visitors promoted a significant increase in seed number and influenced the longitudinal length of fruits when compared to self-pollination. No significant differences were observed between the evaluated species regarding pollination efficiency under single visitation, indicating similar performance in fruit formation. It was concluded that, although tomato plants are capable of self-pollination, the activity of native pollinators contributes significantly to reproductive success and fruit quality in agroforestry systems, reinforcing the importance of conserving bee diversity as a strategy for sustainable agricultural production.