肥皂泡可为果树授粉

日本的研究人员已经成功地利用肥皂泡薄膜中携带的花粉为梨树授粉。由于全世界蜜蜂数量的减少，科学家们一直在寻找给作物授粉的替代方法。

 

Beloved by children and many adults, soap bubbles would hardly seem to be the most robust¹ vehicle for pollinating fruit and vegetables. But Japanese researchers have found that these delicate spheres can each carry up to 2,000 grains of pollen², and their gentle kiss is strong enough to fertilise a flowering pear tree.

深受儿童和许多成年人的喜爱，肥皂泡似乎不是给果蔬授粉的最有力的载体。但日本的研究人员们发现，这些易碎的球体每个都能携带多达2000个花粉颗粒，它们温柔的轻吻足以使一棵开花的梨树受粉。

 

The lead researcher had previously³ experimented with drones for pollination⁴ without much success. But one day, while blowing bubbles with his young son in a park, inspiration literally⁵ popped up in front of his face.

这项研究的首席研究员曾实验过用无人机授粉，但成效不大。但是有一天，当他和年幼的儿子在公园里吹泡泡的时候，灵感顿时出现在他的面前。

 

After a few chemical alterations⁶ to the soapy mixture, the scientists loaded up their bubble guns and headed to a local pear orchard⁷. Sixteen days later, young fruits started to form at a similar rate to trees pollinated by hand.

在对肥皂混合物做出了一些化学改变之后，科学家们把肥皂混合物装进汽泡枪，前往当地的一个梨园。16天后，幼果开始形成，其速度与人工授粉的树木不相上下。

 

While scientists agree that natural pollination is the best method of fertilising fruit and veg, the Japanese team believe that drones armed with soap bubble sprayers could, in future, take some of the strain from hardworking bees.

虽然科学家们一致认为自然传粉是给果蔬授粉的最佳方法，但这个日本的研究小组认为，配有肥皂泡喷洒器的无人机将来可能会减轻勤劳工作的蜜蜂的压力。

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