Unusual pollination technique
Posted: 01 Oct 2020, 10:25
Researchers in Japan have developed a soap bubble-based pollination method that is as effective as doing it by hand.
As wild insect populations decline and commercial honeybee colonies suffer maladies, farmers are seeking new ways to pollinate their crops.
Japanese researchers have succeeded in fertilising pear trees using pollen carried on the thin film of a soap bubble.
When fired from a bubble gun, the delicate soapy spheres achieved a success rate of 95%.
The researchers are now testing drones that fire bubbles for pollination.
As wild insect populations decline and commercial honeybee colonies suffer maladies, farmers are seeking new ways to pollinate their crops.
Japanese researchers have succeeded in fertilising pear trees using pollen carried on the thin film of a soap bubble.
When fired from a bubble gun, the delicate soapy spheres achieved a success rate of 95%.
The researchers are now testing drones that fire bubbles for pollination.