Fans of the TV series Black Mirror are likely to be familiar with this idea; one of the chapters is dedicated to an invention similar to the one now presented by scientists from the Advanced Institute of Industrial Science and Technology , AIST (Japan).
And it is that in the face of habitat degradation, climate change and human intervention, some pollinators are finding serious difficulties to prosper adequately in some parts of the world and this only represents bad news for the human race that relies on such insects to pollinate plants. fruit trees. Many plants rely almost entirely on bees as natural pollinators to produce some of nature’s most nutritious foods, but bee species have declined significantly in recent decades.
“The loss of bees is a global crisis,” said Eijiro Miyako, a co-author of the study. “Also, conventional pollinations like manual pollination are very hard and annoying work for farmers. They really need a convenient automatic pollination method. They are the main reasons why we need to create a new artificial pollination.”
Pollinating with soap bubbles
To compensate for declining pollinator populations, scientists have been trying to create robotic pollination technologies, and this new initiative appears to be an effective replacement for bees and butterflies. The key is in drone-bees that deliver pollen-laden soap bubbles.
The design is very simple ; It essentially involves storing a pollen-laden solution in a bubble gun. The pollination bubble projectiles are fired at will in the middle of an orchard, pollinating the flowers as the bubbles appear on their surface, effectively complementing the work of the bees whose population is in continuous decline.
The researchers tested five different commercial surfactants – substances that lower the surface tension of a liquid, thereby increasing the spreading and wetting properties of the liquid. Lauramidopropyl betaine , a substance that behaves like soap, was the best option. Many stable soap bubbles could be produced and facilitated better pollen germination and growth. Finally , they found that a soap bubble solution with an optimized pH, calcium, other minerals and chemicals was the most effective concentration for germination and for retaining pollen grains in the thin film of the bubbles and transporting them to the target flowers. . Each bubble carries around 2,000 pollen grains directly to the flower.
The experts loaded the solution into a bubble gun and used it to apply pollen to a pear orchard. It was very successful and the pears grew wonderfully. The autonomous drone had a 90% success rate from a height of two meters and at a speed of 2 meters per second (meaning that bubbles can be applied while the drone is in transit).
Another advantage of this curious method of artificial pollination is that the solution that carries the pollen grains can be used to support their activity. The team explains that soap bubble-mediated pollen activity remained stable for three hours after pollination, while grains applied through other methods, such as powder or solution, became less effective.
“It sounds like a fantasy, but the soap bubble allows effective pollination and ensures that the quality of the fruits is the same as with conventional manual pollination,” Miyako clarifies. “Compared to other types of remote pollination, functional soap bubbles have innovative potential and unique properties , such as effective and convenient delivery of pollen grains to specific flowers and high flexibility to avoid damaging them.”
Mind you, the researchers acknowledge that this ingenious creation is not a panacea , especially since bubbles are vulnerable to changing weather conditions, such as wind and rain. However, it is still a fabulous solution.
Referencia: Cell Press. “Soap bubbles pollinated a pear orchard without damaging delicate flowers.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 17 June 2020. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200617150033.htm>.
