Quantification and Role of Insect Pollinators in Enhancing Productivity in Cucumber

Author: Parveena Bano, Rizwana Khursheed, Humira Mushtaq, Sajad A. Ganie, M.A. Paray, S.S. Pathania, Asma Sherwani and Uzma Arifie

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Abstract

Pollination is a critical aspect in cucumber production, since each cucumber flower is open only for a day. Generally two approaches quantify pollination viz., the direct estimate of pollinators’ performance in terms of its behaviour and/or pollen deposition on stigmas, whilst the second indirectly estimates pollinators’ contribution to yield, usually measured as seed set or fruit weight, both of which contribute to overall production of the crop. Six insect pollinators belonging to the two orders viz., Hymenoptera and Diptera were found visiting the cucumber flowers during the study conducted in 2021-2022. The insect pollinators include Apis mellifera, A. cerana, Xylocopa spp, Bumble bees and Syrphids. The mean foraging rate was maximum in Xylocopa spp. (8.72) followed by Halictidae (7.65), Bumble bee and Syrphids (7.27), Apis cerana (5.02) and Apis mellifera (4.75). The mean foraging speed was found maximum in Apis mellifera (8.82), followed by A. cerana (8.40), Bumble bee (8.32), Syrphids (7.15), Halictidae (4.40) and Xylocopa (4.37). Among all the attractants treatments evaluated to insect pollinators, Geranoil had maximum effect on quantitative as well as qualitative parameters of the crop viz., fruit set, fruit volume, number of sound seeds per fruit and weight as a result of efficient pollination by virtue of attracting more pollinators. The minimum effect was observed under Control (Pollination Exclusion) treatment. The positive correlation coefficient was computed between the mean number of pollinators and the various weather parameters except rainfall, which showed the negative correlation with the mean number of the flower pollinators.

Keywords

Cucumber, Pollinators, Apis spp, Attractants, Correlation, Quantitative

Conclusion

The studies highlighted the importance of pollination for improving cucumber yield. The pollinators’ abundance, their behaviour, pollen deposition on stigmas, and over all contribution towards the fruit and seed yield is obvious from the study. The relative attractiveness of flowers, and/or the pollinator dependency of the cucurbit species (cucumber), also influence the insect visits to the crop. Whilst from a management view, the spatial and temporal context of study sites, which include the influence of various weather parameters, upon the abundance and richness of insect pollinator species which could be further enhanced by the use of attractants.

References

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How to cite this article

Parveena Bano, Rizwana Khursheed, Humira Mushtaq, Sajad A. Ganie, M.A. Paray, S.S. Pathania, Asma Sherwani and Uzma Arifie (2023). Quantification and Role of Insect Pollinators in Enhancing Productivity in Cucumber. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 15(9): 547-551.