Diurnal and temporal activity of pronubial insects on berseem flowers in a subtropical environment

Abstract

Pollination is the most important ecosystem service performed by insect pollinators benefiting more than three quarters of the major crops in the world. Conservation and management of honey bees are an essential part of the sustainable productivity of cross pollinated crops. The present study was conducted to identify the potential pollinator of berseem in Bundelkhand region, which typically represents the subtropical climatic condition. In total, 14 species of insects belonging to seven families of three insect orders were found visiting berseem flowers. The most frequent floral guests were hymenopterans (81 percent) followed by Lepidoptera (13 percent) and Diptera (6 percent) during the winter season of 2017–2018. Apis dorsata was the most dominant floral visitor, whose peak activity was observed between 10.00 AM and 11.00 AM (7.354/m²/10 min). The activities of pollinators were found maximum during the peak flowering stage of berseem. Seeds obtained from open pollinated plots showed a significant increase in yield (383.24 and 491.41 percent) over caged conditions during 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Keywords:

• Apis dorsata
• pollination dynamics
• pollinator diversity
• self-incompatibility
• seed yield

Acknowledgements

Authors are thankful to the Head of the Seed Technology Division and the Director of the institute for providing facilities.

Disclosure statement

The authors state that they do not have any financial interest or benefit from the applications of this research.