Visits of honeybees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and their effects on cucumber yields in the field
1999
Gingras, D. | Gingras, J. | De Oliveira, D.
Field tests were conducted to determine whether the presence of honey bees (Apis mellifera L.), as well as the number and duration of their visits to flowers affected cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) yields. The experiment included flowers not visited by bees, flowers freely visited by bees, and flowers with controlled visits by bees. A single visit to a flower was sufficient to induce fruiting. Flowers that had the greatest number of visits and highest cumulative durations of visits also had the greatest cucumber yields. The rate of pollination was correlated with the cumulative duration but not with the total number of bee visits. The maximum cucumber circumference was significantly correlated with the cumulative duration of bee visits. No significant correlation was found between cucumber weight and the number or cumulative duration of visits by bees. The presence of honey bees together with the number and cumulative duration of their visits to the flowers are important to pollination and influence both the quality and the quantity of cucumber production.
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