Does floral provisioning enhance pollination of Cucurbita and Cucumis crops by bee communities?

Floral provisioning strips a set of native flowers that are planted adjacent to crop fields with the intention of attracting pollinators to crop bloom and providing supplemental provisions (pollen and nectar) to support and enhance pollinator communities within an agroecosystem. We recorded bee communities and visitation rates of bees on Cucurbita and Cucumis crops, and on adjacent floral provisioning strips for three years at our research plot in central Pennsylvania. Crop yield, fruit weight and seed count of Cucurbita and Cucumis were compared between a floral provisioning supplemented field and a control field to assess if floral provisioning enhances crop production. Our results suggest that floral provisioning strips may not enhance pollination and crop production in small-scale fields.