Comparative Efficiency of Native Insect Pollinators in Reproductive Performance of L. in Pakistan

Overview

Journal Insects

Specialty Biology

Date 2021 Nov 25

PMID 34821829

Citations 2

Authors

Abdur Rauf

Shafqat Saeed

Mudssar Ali

Muhammad Hammad Nadeem Tahir

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Lucerne ( L.) is a cross-pollinated crop and requires entomophilous pollination for tripping of flowers and subsequent pod and seed set. To discover the best pollinators for lucerne seed production, a two-year field trial was carried out at the research farm of MNS University of Agriculture, Multan, Pakistan. Abundance and diversity of insect pollinators along with the foraging behavior were recorded in terms of tripping efficiency, stay time, visitation rate and pollen harvest. The single-visit efficiency of abundant insect pollinators was also evaluated in terms of number of seeds and seed weight per raceme along with germination percentage. Ten most abundant floral visitors (five solitary bee species, three honeybee species and two syrphid fly species) were tested for their pollination efficiency. Honeybees were most abundant in both the years followed by the solitary bees and syrphid flies. Single-visit efficacy in terms of number of pods per raceme, number of seeds per raceme, 1000 seed weight and germination percentage revealed as the most efficient insect pollinator followed by and sp. Future studies should investigate the biology and ecology of these bee species with special emphasis on their nesting behavior and seasonality.

Citing Articles

Significance of honeybee pollination in increasing seed yield of Trifolium alexandrinum (Fabales: Fabaceae) and its impact on economic sustainability of smallholder farmers.

Tufail M, Krebs G, Southwell A, Piltz J, Wynn P, Cook D J Econ Entomol. 2024; 117(6):2495-2504.

PMID: 39393010 PMC: 11683155. DOI: 10.1093/jee/toae222.

What Are the Best Pollinator Candidates for : Do Not Forget Hoverflies and Flies.

Yuan B, Hu G, Zhang X, Yuan J, Fan X, Yuan D Insects. 2022; 13(6).

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