Honeybees and other Insect Pollinators of Cultivated Plants: A Review (original) (raw)
Related papers
2017
The focus of agriculture in India is slowly shifting from value horticultural crops farming such as fruits and vegetables. The change of subsistence systems to commercial cultivation of horticultural crops possesses new challenges for improving crop productivity and quality. Amongst sev attributing to low productivity, inadequate pollination is the most important. Pollination is a simple process involving transfer of pollen from anthers to the stigma of the same or different flower. Horticultural crops require adequate pollin better fruit production. Most of the horticultural crops are cross pollinated and they need agent (honey bee) which could transfer pollen grain from one flower to another. Cross pollination of entomophilous crops by honeybees is considered as one effective and cheapest method for triggering the crop yield both qualitatively and quantitatively. It has been reported that there are more than 25000 described species of bees in the world and account for 65% pollination of various flowering crops Primarily two honey bee species viz successfully domesticated and practices for their management for pollination of crops have been standardized for many crops. Honey bee colony in the orchard must be ensured for better production. Introduction India is second largest producer of fruit (88.9 mt) and vegetable (162.89 mt) in the world followed by China. Most of the horticultural crops are cross pollinated. Cross-pollination helps at least 30 percent of the world's crops and 90 percent of our wild plants to thrive. It is estimated that about one third of all plants or plant products eaten by humans are directly or indirectly dependent on bee pollination. In India 50 million hectares of land is under bee dependent of bees as pollinators has been known for many years, but unfortunately, this knowledge is not widely appreciated and understood. In most of the crops, flowers have short life to perform pollination. If such a crop is not pollinated during that time, the flowers will fall and no seeds, berries or fruit will develop. There have to be sufficient numbers of bees in the field to , 2017 Lal et al., 2017 www.innovativefarming.in
Insect Pollinators; Agents for Increasing Crop Productivity
2018
Besides, making use of agronomic inputs and biotechnological approaches, the third way of increasing crop production and productivity is through management of pollination. It is an essential ecological services, provide by pollinators, helps in mitigating the problems of food production, nutritional security and biodiversity conservation. Pollinators, both biotic and abiotic, play an important role in sustaining the life in earth. Among various biotic polzlinators, which include living organism such as insects, birds, bats and others, insect pollinators play significant role in increasing food production through the process of their foraging. In the world of insects, different species of bees including honeybees, bumble-bees, stingless bees, and solitary bees are the most effective pollinators of crops. Over 25,000 species of bees are reported to pollinate over 70% of the world’s cultivated crops. About 15% of the world’s 100 principal crops are pollinated by manageable species of h...
Pollinators: Their Relevance in Conservation and Sustainable Agro-Ecosystem
Plant Reproductive Ecology - Recent Advances [Working Title]
Survival and reproduction of several wild plants and crops is mostly by insects pollinator, their recognition and importance have been increased in this climatic changing scenario, which affects the various aspects of their life cycle. According to an estimate, approximately 30,000 species of bees are known in entomology, and about 190 species of bees have been reported to be associated with pollination. There can be an established link between seed production and pollinator diversity, for the plants with a generalist pollination system. The increasing of human habitation affects insect pollinators in various ways, i.e. of habitat destruction, results in low availability of food sources, nesting, oviposition, resting, and mating sites. Pollinator availability restraints the geographical distribution of plant species, i.e. to develop an ecological niche of certain plant species. Failure of pollinator- plant interaction mutualism results in lower seed production and sometimes extirpat...
Study the abundance of insect pollinators/visitors in rapeseed-mustard (Brassica juncea L
The present investigation entitled " Impact of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) pollination in mustard (Brassica campestris var. toria) to the enhancement of seed yield " in randomized block design was recorded at Student Instructional Farm of N.D.U.A.T, Kumarganj, Faizabad during Rabi 2016-17. The result revealed that the insects of order-Hymenoptera namely; Apis dorsata, Apis mellifera, T. irridipennis were the major floral visitors belonging to family Apidae. The insects among this apidae family, Apis dorsata and A. mellifera were the most frequent visitors. The abundance of insect pollinators was found maximum in afternoon (3.00-4.00 PM) with 31.56 pollinators /plant/5 min. The higher number of floral visitors in the evening can be attributed of favorable meteorological parameters of afternoon. However, A. dorsata showed its maximum visit on flowers in afternoon with respect to other pollinators. The maximum pod setting 76.24 pod/plant and 83.50 percent seed setting were recorded in open-pollination followed by bee-pollination with 71.20 pod/plant and 78.25 percent seed setting and minimum pod setting 69.12 pod/plant and 71.80 percent seed setting in self-pollination.
Pollinator Insects and their Impact on Crop Yield of Mustard in Kusma, Parbat, Nepal
Journal of Institute of Science and Technology, 2019
The diversity of insect pollinators and their impact on crop yield of mustard were studied in Kusma, Parbat, Nepal from December 2018 to April 2019 in four blocks with each having 12 m2 areas. Two plots; treatment and control, were established in each block. Insect diversity was observed from 8 to 16 hrs, with the interval of an hour for three consecutive months (Jan-Feb). Eighty mustard plants were randomly selected, 40 from each plot just before flowering to find the impact of insect pollination on crop yield and these selected plants were examined for various qualitative and quantitative parameters. Altogether 16 species of pollinator insects belonging to five orders and nine families were recorded. Hymenoptera (36 %) was the most abundant order visiting mustard flowers followed by Diptera (34 %), Coleoptera (17 %), Lepidoptera (12 %) and Heteroptera (1 %). The most abundant family was Apidae (35.64 %), followed by Syrphidae (31.84 %). Apis cerana and Eristalis sp. were the most ...
Role of insect pollinators and pollinizers in arid and semi-arid horticultural crops
2018
Pollinators and pollinizers play pivotal role in pollination of arid and semi-arid horticultural crop species for sustaining the crop diversity and production systems. Many horticultural crops such as ber, aonla, pomegranate, phalsa, fig, jamun, citrus, bael, khejri, cucurbits, field beans etc. require insect pollinators for efficient pollination) to gain the higher yield. The pollinators and pollinizers increase quantitative and qualitative traits of horticultural crop produce. The present paper provides comprehensive information on the role of native as well as managed pollinators in the arid and semi-arid horticultural crop production. It is necessary to understand the importance of pollinators and pollinizers species richness or diversity in their natural habitat and role in crop improvement. The pollination with honeybees, knowledge about pollinizers, pollinator’s management and artificial pollination are major horticultural inventions to enhance the yield and quality in hortic...
2018
A pollinator is the biotic agent, animals or vector that moves pollen from anthers to stigma of a flower. Insects and other animal pollinators are vital for the production of healthy crops for food, fibers, edible oils, medicines, and other products. It is estimated that more than 1,300 types of plants are cultivated around the world for food, beverages, medicines, condiments, spices and even fabric. Out of these, almost 75% are pollinated by animals. In fact, pollinators such as bees, birds and bats affect 35 percent of the world’s crop production which increased outputs of 87 of the leading food crops worldwide and obviously within these, fruits and vegetables are the most benefited items. With highest efficacy of honeybees, approximately 100,000 different species of animals around the world act as pollinators to 250,000 plant species on the planet. But now the population of wild, native and managed pollinators is declining at an alarming rate owing to alterations in their food an...
Plant Attractants and Rewards for Pollinators: Their Significance to Successful Crop Pollination
2022
Plant and pollination have a mutualistic relationship where both parties offer and gain benefits for each other. The plant-pollinator interactions resulted in successful crop pollination in which the plant received pollination services by animal pollinator to increase food production that eventually increase crop economic value. Overall, ecosystem is highly dependent on pollinator thus there is a need to review potential valuation method of crop production and analyse the current understanding of the value of pollination service towards the ecosystem as well as the traits plant offer and benefits that pollinator gain from the relationship. The attractant and rewards highly depending on each other. Plant often able to attract pollinators through traits like the shape, size and colours of flower, deception, scents as well as location. In the meantime, plant would provide a reward for pollinators that visited the flower which includes food from pollen and nectar that contains high nutritional value, energetic rewards to reduce energy cost of survival, protection and shelter against predator and not to forget breeding, oviposition and mating sites inside the flower plant. This review emphasizes the ecological relationship of plant and pollinator that resulting in effective crop pollination if the attractant and incentives are significantly reliant on one another. However, there could be flaws, such as modifications to plant or environmental factors, would affect the rewards supplied and resulting in decrease crop output. With this review and current technological advancements, optimistically deeper investigations in the interaction of pollinator and flowering plant can be conducted and best pollinator management approaches can be established to secure sustainable crops production.