Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of another flower, enabling fertilization and the production of seeds. Pollination can occur through biotic or abiotic means. Biotic pollination relies on living pollinators, such as insects, birds, and bats, to move the pollen from one flower to another. Abiotic pollination relies on wind, water, or even rain to transfer pollen. Pollination is essential for plant reproduction, and it is important in horticulture and agriculture because fruiting is dependent on fertilization.

The pollination process usually occurs as an unintended consequence of an animals activity on a flower. The pollinator is often eating or collecting pollen for its protein and other nutritional characteristics, or it is sipping nectar from the flower when pollen grains attach themselves to the animals body. When the animal visits another flower for the same reason, pollen can fall off onto the flowers stigma and may result in successful reproduction of the flower.

Successful pollination requires year-round efforts, and plants evolved with differing flowering times that decrease competition among pollinators. Continuous blooms throughout the growing season provide pollinators with a constant food supply.

Pollination management is a branch of agriculture that seeks to protect and enhance present pollinators and often involves the culture and addition of pollinators in monoculture situations, such as commercial fruit orchards. The largest managed pollination event in the world is in California almond orchards, where nearly two-thirds of the U.S. almond supply is produced with the help of bees.