Researchers from Curtin University are a-buzz with findings to boost avocado production by protecting insects

While a fly buzzing around your avocado toast may be annoying, new research has shown having insects around can keep avocado crops booming. Research from Curtin University has reviled the hidden role patches on native vegetation alongside farmland play in avocado production, giving a home to countless insect pollinators. The research found insect communities in avocado orchards adjacent to native remnant vegetation foraged on more than twice as many plant species at times when crop flowering was limited, compared to bugs in orchards bordered by pasture. Having access to almost double the food means insects are much more likely to survive outside of seasons and return to pollinate crops next year offering potential clue in the challenge to safeguard global food security. Lead author Dr Joshua Kestel completed the research as part of his PhD and said it was particularly compelling as it had been traditionally difficult to quantify the diversity of pollen collected by entire insect communities, especially across vast agricultural landscapes. His research involved using a novel method pioneered at Curtin University applying a cutting-edge biodiversity assessment technique — environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding — to insects collected in pan traps. The metabarcoding allowed them to identify the diversity of pollen transported by entire insect communities collected during sampling. “This approach allowed us to demonstrate that natural vegetation adjacent to orchards may enhance the resilience of insect communities, potentially contributing to greater food security,” Dr Kestel said. The researchers collected more than 2,000 insect specimens and identified more than 250 plant taxa from eDNA, including crops, weeds and native Australian flora. The team recommended incorporating standardised biodiversity surveys into regular farm monitoring, protecting agroecosystems by recognising the value of natural vegetation and revegetating uncultivated land within orchards. Co-author Associate Professor Paul Nevill said the research was significant with insects pollinating 75 per cent of all agricultural crops — yet many face extinction. “In order to meet the food needs of the planet, diverse and healthy insect communities play a critical role in supporting essential ecosystem services such as pollination and the biological control of pests,” he said. “In Australia alone, an estimated 320,000 insect species exist, yet only 35 per cent have been formally identified — and the plant resources many of them rely on remain largely unknown. “By using sophisticated eDNA metabarcoding capable of detecting the trace of a single grain of pollen or even the footprint of a bee, we’re helping to close these knowledge gaps and better understand how these insects might contribute to safeguarding global food security.”