Pollination Ecology of Watermelon and Other Global Food Crops - Dataset

The dataset relates to the pollination ecology of watermelon and consists of three separate data files; 1) data extracted from published articles, 2) pollen morphology and pollen-pistil interactions and 3) insect visitation rates and pollinator effectiveness. Data were collected in different methods in each data file and were used in thesis chapters separately; 1) articles were selected through a systematic review process and extracted data on the relative abundance of floral visitors and their pollination effectiveness in pollination metrics, 2) flower samples of five different watermelon cultivars and hand-pollinated crosses (triploid x diploid and triploid x triploid) were collected from the farms and acetolysed pollen to measure morphological traits and pistils were processed to observe pollen tubes through a fluorescence microscope under UV light and 3) insect flower counts were obtained through observation transects in watermelon farms and pollinator effectiveness was measured based on their single visits pollen counts.