Pollination Potential of (Apis cerana indica) in Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duchex Poir)

Author: Kedswin K.S., Srinivasan M.R., Saminathan V.R., Preetha G. and Thangamani C.

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Abstract

The activity of Apis cerana indica is heavily influenced by weather and environmental conditions, factors such as temperature, humidity, rainfall, and wind can affect bee foraging behavior and the frequency of their visits to pumpkin flowers. The crop pollination of pumpkin flowers is greatly aided by honey bees. An experiment was conducted at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, to investigate the pollination potential and effectiveness of Indian bees (A. cerana indica) on pumpkin. The abundance and diversity of forage in both male and female pumpkin flowers, measured asforagers/flower/min were recorded. In three different situations viz., open pollination, bee pollination and pollination exclusion the pumpkin fruit set and yield were evaluated. The foraging rate of bees on the male flowers (0.81/min) was higher than on female flowers (0.49/min) and the floral handling time in seconds on male and female flowers was5.03 and 3.85 respectively. A. cerana indica foraging activity peaked between 7:00 - 09:00 am with 30.06 foragers / 5 minutes. A. florea was found to possess the highest Pollination Efficiency Index (2.49 / 5 inflorescences/ 5 min). At the hive entrance, incoming and outgoing bees was high at 7:00 - 09:00 am in the morning. A. cerana indica colony growth parameters viz., the adult bee population, increased by 11.77% and the sealed honey area by 33.10%. Based on the results of pollination studies, it was found that managed bee-pollinated plots produced more fruits 3.3 fruits/ plant and 39.7t/ha than open pollination conditions (2.6 fruits/ plant) and (34.6t/ha). In contrast, the pollination exclusion condition failed to produce any fruit.

Keywords

Apis cerana indica, Pumpkin, Pollination efficiency, Foraging activity, Bees abundance, Pollination efficiency

Conclusion

The cross pollination activity of A. cerana indica, an efficient pollinator of pumpkins, significantly enhances production outcomes. During the duration of the trial, the A. cerana indica colony growth parameter also began to rise. To increase the output of pumpkin and honey, planned pollination by bees with A. cerana indica is thus the best choice for farmers and beekeepers.

References

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How to cite this article

Kedswin K.S., Srinivasan M.R., Saminathan V.R., Preetha G. and Thangamani C. (2023). Pollination Potential of (Apis cerana indica) in Pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata Duchex Poir). Biological Forum – An International Journal, 15(5a): 181-186.