Lay That Pistil Down

The romance between bees and flowers is not always gentle. Alfalfa flowers, for instance, can be brutal. Last week Dr. Ephraim Hixson of the University of Nebraska was trying to make alfalfa flowers kinder to bees. His object, of course, was more alfalfa seed.

The pistil of an alfalfa flower is a strong spring held in tension by two "keel petals." When the bee alights on the petals, the pistil snaps up and out. This process ensures cross-fertilization by showering the bee with pollen and spanking other pollen loose from the bee's body.

But often the flower plays too rough, and the snap of the pistil knocks the bee for a loop. Tough wild bees will take this punishment. Gently bred tame bees will not. They sneak up on the flower and steal its nectar stealthily without springing the pistil. The flower thus remains unfertilized and bears no alfalfa seed.

In Nebraska and other regions that produce alfalfa seed, wild bees are getting scarcer. In recent years, the yield of seed per acre has been steadily going down. Dr. Hixson has been crossing alfalfa strains, breeding them for gentleness of pistil. He hopes to develop flowers with so soft a wallop that even the timidest bee will not be afraid to alight on them.

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