Honey bees ( Apis mellifera ) visiting flowers of yellow melon ( Cucumis melo ) using different number of hives

Ciência Rural

Lima Júnior, Ivan de Oliveira¹  Ribeiro, Márcia de Fátima¹  Silva, Eva Mônica Sarmento da²  Kiill, Lúcia Helena Piedade¹ 

[1] Embrapa Semiárido, Petrolina, Brazil;Universidade do Vale do São Francisco, Petrolina, Brazil

关键词: honey bees;    Apis mellifera;    number of hives;    crop pollination;    melon;    Cucumis meloRESUMOAs abelhas melíferas (Apis mellifera) polinizam o melão (Cucumis melo) e melhoram a produção e qualidade dos frutos;   

DOI  :  10.1590/0103-8478cr20140974

学科分类：农业科学（综合）

来源: Universidade Federal de Santa Maria * Centro de Ciencias Rurais

【 摘 要 】

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) pollinate melon (Cucumis melo) and improve production and quality of fruits. However, little is known about bee behavior and number of hives required. The aims of this study were to compare bees visiting flowers in crop areas with different number of hives (0, 1, 2, and 3), and to evaluate which is the best number. Flowers were observed (n=78) from 5 am to 6 pm, for five consecutive days, in four experimental areas (0.5ha each). Comparisons were made for male (MF) and hermaphrodite (HF) flowers, number of hives and fruit production. The HF were always more visited than MF. Most comparisons made for three hives presented significant differences, since visits increased drastically, competition among bees for floral resources became stronger and reduced the production of commercial fruit (93.4%). On the other hand, the highest percentage of commercial fruit was obtained (99%) with two hives, setting the ideal number of hives as four hives ha-1.

【 授权许可】

Unknown