Determination of the Pollination Efficacy in Apis mellifera L. Colony Level on Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

Abstract

The series of trials were carried for this initiative at Barani Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Chakwal (Pakistan) to examine the impact of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) pollination efficacy on cucumber (Cucumis sativus) crop and discussed three main studies. i. Pollen transported by honey bees and foraging rate on cucurbit crops. For this purpose two bee colonies were placed in study plot. In both colonies the maximum no. of pollen load and maximum mean weight of pollen load 37% and 36 % obtained from early hours of the day from 10 am to 12 pm while study revealed that foraging activities of bees reduced after noon ii. Figuring out of substitute honeybee pollen sources on cucurbit crops revealed that ten distinct plant types, containing Cucumis sativus were recognized as main exploration basis for Apis mellifera. Out of these 10 fluorescent resources half were found to be crops plant and other half were weed plants. It has also been realized that when the most of the plants are in flowering, bee foraging activities are at their maximum (From the end of March. to start of May). Throughout this time, C. sativus was the most important bee forager in terms of pollen and nectar. iii. Impact of weather conditions on foraging rate of bees on cucurbits. This study revealed that in all significant pair-wise comparisons for March to July 2019, where A. mellifera visits to Cucumber flowers was found to be the greatest during the month of April and May 2019 and lowest in the month of June and July 2019. From April (22.45 oC) to July (30.25 oC)   2019, the cumulative increasing temperature was considerably higher at BARI, Chakwal, Pakistan, where the study was carried out.