Determining the effects of stingless bee pollination on physic nut

A total of 26 insect visitors were distributed among the five plantations [in Camarines Sur, Bicol, Philippines] surveyed. Of the 26 insects, only 13 were considered as pollinators. These pollinators included Cyclopa, calliphorids, Sarcophagids, pachyrrnchids, mired bugs, wasps (vespids, sphecids, and ichnuemonids), bees, ricanids, tree hoppers, and black and red ants. The Camarines Sur State Agricultural College - Regional Agriculture Center (CSSAC-RAC) plantation had the most number of floral visitors (22 species) while the Department of Agrarian Reform - Provincial Governor's Office (DAR-PGO) had the least (16 species). Likewise, CSSAC-RAC had the highest diversity of pollinators with a diversity index of 0.989 followed by Sto. Niño and CSSAC Animal Science area with 0.929, and DAR-PGO with 0.9 whereas the Viva Bio Farms had the least diversity of species with 0.831. Results also revealed that the pollination of stingless bees generally enhanced the fruit production of physic nut as more fruit set was produced in the bee-pollinated group with a mean of 12.36 in contrast to the open-pollinated with only 4.19 fruits/cluster. Bee-pollinated fruits were also larger compared to the open-pollinated fruits having a mean fruit length of 37.79 mm and 34.18 mm, respectively and diameter of 34.59 mm and 32.78 mm, respectively. A significant difference in terms of quantity was also observed as the bee-pollinated trees had a mean fruit weight of only 1.758 while the open-pollinated had a mean fruit weight of only 0.9875 g. As for the number of seeds, both types of pollination had three seeds per fruit. However, the weight of the seeds varied as the bee-pollinated seeds were slightly heavier (0.519 g) than the open-pollinated seeds (0.262 g).