On 2 June 2025, researchers from Wageningen University & Research (WUR) and the University of Mons (UMONS), both partners in the AGRI4POL project, conducted a joint fieldwork in Wageningen, the Netherlands. The work forms part of Task 2.2 in Work Package 2 Genetics of crop floral traits governing pollinator attraction: future pollinator-smart crops.

Cristina Heredia ( WUR) and Dr. Elif Kardas (UMONS) on the field in Wageningen, collecting pollen from Faba bean flowers of different varieties 

The focus of the fieldwork was the Faba bean, one of the study plants of AGRI4POL. Researchers Cristina Heredia (WUR) and Dr Elif Kardas (UMONS) collected pollen from different Faba bean flowers. The pollen samples will be biochemically characterised by the UMONS team to examine whether pollinators are attracted to particular molecular profiles.

To ensure sufficient plant material for these analyses, part of the crop was bagged with white covers (in the picture below), while unbagged plants in the same plots remained available. These open plants will be observed by the WUR team to assess their attractiveness to pollinators.

Cristina Heredia (WUR) bagging some plants (white cover)