Avocado: Hoverfly pollination boosts avocado production
Improved avocado production thanks to hoverfly pollination
Evidence from trials demonstrate a significant increase in yield and profitability when hoverflies are released in commercial avocado orchards. Consecutive trials have consistently shown increases of production exceeding 80% in netted plots, resulting in a doubling of growers’ revenue.
Lots of flowers, few fruits
Avocado complex reproductive biology and its flowers’ low attraction for Hymenoptera result in a very low flower-to-fruit ratio of less than 1%.
Avocado production heavily relies on insect pollinators. With typically less than 1% of the flowers ultimately yielding a fruit, avocado often suffers from a chronic pollination deficit. While crop management practices like irrigation and fertilization are important, avocado productivity is very much limited by its complex reproductive biology and lack of effective pollinators.
Protecting avocado orchards with nets mitigates weather hazards (hail, wind…) and improves Integrated Pest & Pollination Management (IPPM). So far, the use of netting in avocado orchards has been hindered by the absence of managed pollinators that can perform well in such protected cropping systems.
Since 2017, Polyfly has devoted considerable R&D resources to demonstrate the efficiency of QUEENFLY® and GOLDFLY® as pollinators of challenging crops like avocado. Polyfly has developed sustainable rearing protocols that allow for the reliable supply of these alternative pollinators on a large scale, both outdoors and in protected settings.
Boost flower visits, foster harvest
Well adapted and effective pollinators are needed to boost flower visitation rates and significantly increase crop productivity, even more so in netted plots.
Boost avocado yield with hoverflies
Hoverflies constitute a new class managed pollinators that can drastically improve avocado yields and quality. Their efficiency is scientifically proven and numerous growers have already adopted them.
More profit, increased returns
Trials in commercial orchards have shown that hoverfly pollination can increase the growers’ annual return by 80% (in netted plots).
Easy-to-use hoverfly boxes
Pollinating hoverflies are easy to implement and use, as they come in the form of ready-to-emerge pupae, packed in biodegradable boxes.
Hoverflies: Top allies for avocado pollination
Polyfly has collaborated with leading institutions such as the Mediterranean and Subtropical Horticulture Institute “La Mayora” and Wageningen UR, as well as avocado growers, to evaluate the performance of QUEENFLY® and GOLDFLY® hoverflies compared to traditional pollinators.
The results consistently show that hoverflies outperform other traditional pollinators such as bumblebees in initial fruit set and in the percentage of flowers with pollen during the female phase. They also maintain continuous activity throughout the day, even under unpredictable weather conditions, covering a broader temperature range (14 °C–36 °C) than other pollinators. This extended behavior increases cross-pollination opportunities in avocado, whose male and female flowers open asynchronously.
QUEENFLY® and GOLDFLY® serve as native local pollinators in most regions, enhancing overall pollination activity by mutually stimulating other species. They are completely harmless to people and crops, and are supplied as ready-to-use pupae in recyclable cartons, requiring no complex handling.
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