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Pollination Efficiency of Stingless Bee, Tetragonula iridipennis (Smith) on Greenhouse Cucumber, Cucumis sativus (Linnaeus)


Affiliations
1 Department of Agricultural Entomology, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia 741 252, India
2 Department of Entomology, Assam Agricultural University (AAU), Jorhat 785 013, India
3 Department of Agronomy, Assam Agricultural University (AAU), Jorhat 785 013, India
4 Regional Agricultural Research Station, AAU, Karimganj 788 710, India
5 Polytechnic of Agriculture, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Garikapadu 521 175, India
6 M.S. Swaminathan School of Agriculture, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Paralakhemundi 761 211, India
 

The present study deals with the foraging activities and pollination efficiency of Tetragonula iridipennis in cucumber (Cucumis sativus) under protected conditions. Experiments were conducted during two seasons (summer and winter) with three different treatments: open pollination (OP), pollinator exclusion (PE) and stingless bee pollination (SBP) in Assam, North East India. The foraging activity of T. iridipennis was checked in SBP treatment at different timings after installing a 15,504 cm3 beehive. The pollination efficiency of T. iridipennis was also examined among the three selected treatments. The peak period of visitation on cucumber flowers was recorded during 0800-0900 h of the day during both seasons. The yield increase of SBP over PE during both seasons was five times higher. These findings indicate the significance of T. iridipennis as an effective pollinator in greenhouse cucumbers.

Keywords

Cucumber, Foraging Activity, Pollination Efficiency, Stingless Bee, Yield.
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  • Pollination Efficiency of Stingless Bee, Tetragonula iridipennis (Smith) on Greenhouse Cucumber, Cucumis sativus (Linnaeus)

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Authors

Sourav Sen
Department of Agricultural Entomology, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia 741 252, India
Shimantini Borkataki
Department of Entomology, Assam Agricultural University (AAU), Jorhat 785 013, India
Pranjit Sutradhar
Department of Agronomy, Assam Agricultural University (AAU), Jorhat 785 013, India
Ritu Ranjan Taye
Regional Agricultural Research Station, AAU, Karimganj 788 710, India
Badal Bhattacharyya
Department of Entomology, Assam Agricultural University (AAU), Jorhat 785 013, India
P. S. Saranya
Polytechnic of Agriculture, Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University, Garikapadu 521 175, India
S. P. Nanda
M.S. Swaminathan School of Agriculture, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Paralakhemundi 761 211, India
M. Devender Reddy
M.S. Swaminathan School of Agriculture, Centurion University of Technology and Management, Paralakhemundi 761 211, India

Abstract


The present study deals with the foraging activities and pollination efficiency of Tetragonula iridipennis in cucumber (Cucumis sativus) under protected conditions. Experiments were conducted during two seasons (summer and winter) with three different treatments: open pollination (OP), pollinator exclusion (PE) and stingless bee pollination (SBP) in Assam, North East India. The foraging activity of T. iridipennis was checked in SBP treatment at different timings after installing a 15,504 cm3 beehive. The pollination efficiency of T. iridipennis was also examined among the three selected treatments. The peak period of visitation on cucumber flowers was recorded during 0800-0900 h of the day during both seasons. The yield increase of SBP over PE during both seasons was five times higher. These findings indicate the significance of T. iridipennis as an effective pollinator in greenhouse cucumbers.

Keywords


Cucumber, Foraging Activity, Pollination Efficiency, Stingless Bee, Yield.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv125%2Fi8%2F865-870