By Blake Jackson
Monarch butterflies and other pollinators play a vital role in both natural ecosystems and food production, enabling flowering plants to reproduce and supporting fruit and vegetable crops. Yet habitat loss, pesticide exposure and the decline of native plant species have led to sharp drops in pollinator populations over recent decades.
New research from Cornell Agri Tech, published in Horticulturae, explores why many native wildflowers that pollinators depend on are difficult to establish from seed.
The study, led by Alan Taylor, Masoume Amirkhani, Michael Loos and Sıtkı Ermiş, evaluated the seed biology of 28 pollinator-friendly native species. From those, six were selected for deeper study to identify ways to overcome seed dormancy and assess germination under varying moisture conditions.
“We’re looking at the technology of the seeds,” said Taylor, a professor in Cornell’s School of Integrative Plant Science. “What is the quality of the seeds? What’s the germination? What is the dormancy, and how do we break it? It’s really about the seed biology.”
The six focal species were chosen following guidelines from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service for the eastern Appalachian region. “Species are divided by blooming periods so that the monarch has something available throughout the season – early, middle and late,” said Loos, a research support specialist on the project.
“The NRCS program requires at least two species in bloom for each period. We selected three milkweed species and three nectar plants that cover that full span.”
Researchers found that dormancy was a major barrier to germination. While 98% of commercial seed lots tested were labeled as more than 50% viable, only 62% achieved that level of germination. To improve results, seeds were soaked in gibberellic acid (GA3) combined with hydrogen peroxide, significantly boosting germination rates.
The team also studied moisture tolerance, identifying species suited to dry, moderate or wetter “mesic” environments. Their findings are supporting development of seed pellets containing multiple native species that can be planted using standard farm equipment, helping farmers establish diverse pollinator habitats more efficiently.
Photo Credit: istock-herreid
Categories: New York, Education, General