Insect pollination of flowering plants plays a fundamental role in terrestrial environments by providing vital ecosystem services for agricultural food production of global importance. The abundance and diversity of insect pollinators is decreasing rapidly across the globe. Cucumber is a cross-pollinated crop of significant agricultural importance which is highly reliant on pollinating insects for fruit production. In the current investigations, four different cultivars, Quice, Dynasty, Mailini, and Full Moon cucumber were planted under caged and uncaged conditions using a split-plot design. The objective of the study was to determine the specific effects of caging on cucumber pollination and to explore the role of insect pollinators, especially honey bees, in increasing cucumber yields. Data was collected on fruit weight, length, number of fruits per plant, and yield of the cucumber crop. The results showed that eleven species of insect pollinators belonging to six different orders including Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera, Odonata and Neuroptera and nine families visited the cucumber flowers. We observed Apis melifera, Apis dorsata, Xylocopa fenestrata, Pieris brassicae, Danaus plexippus, Papilio demoleus, Musca domestica, Eristalis aeneus, Coccinella septempunctata, Ishmura senegalensis and Chrysoperla carnea as pollinators of this crop. The maximum pollination activity was observed during the morning, whereas the lowest foraging activity was noticed during the evening hours. The analysis of relative abundance indices revealed that A. mellifera (0.329) and A. dorsata (0.293) were the most abundant species visiting cucumber blooms. In contrast, C. carnea (0.012) was the least abundant species observed. The diversity index analysis indicated that the maximum Shannon-Weiner diversity index of 0.365 was calculated for A. mellifera, followed by 0.359 for A. dorsata. The lowest Shannon-Weiner diversity index were recorded for I. senegalensis and E. aeneus (0.073). A. mellifera and A. dorsata had the highest (0.152 and 0.149) species evenness (J). Conversely, the lowest species evenness was recorded for C. carnea (0.022). The species richness (d) analysis showed that the hymenoptera and lepidoptera orders had the highest (2.386) species richness, whereas; the lowest (0.386) species richness was recorded for coleoptera, odonatan and neuropteran orders. A. mellifera and A. dorsata were the most vital foragers among all pollinator species, indicating their importance in cucumber pollination. It is evident from the findings that pollinators access had a significant (P < 0.05) effect on the yield of cucumber crop and the maximum yield (53833.65 kg ha− 1) of cucumber crop was obtained when grown under un-caged conditions which differed significantly from cucumber yield (23996.05 kg ha− 1) documented when grown under caged conditions. The maximum fruit length (13.03 cm) and weight (59.1 g) were documented when the cucumber crop was grown under uncaged conditions. Among the various cucumber cultivars, Malini had the highest while Full Moon gave the lowest yield. Based on these findings, it is concluded that cucumber is highly dependent on pollinators, and insect pollinators play a crucial role in both the quantity and quality of the cucumber crop. Therefore, it is suggested that placing honeybee colonies near cucumber fields, starting 2 to 3 days after blooming, can significantly enhance cucumber yields.

Impact of insect pollinators on the yield and quality of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.)

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发表日期：

2026年4月1日

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Muhammad Mamoon-ur-Rashid,
Farheen Sayyam,
Habib Ali,
Modhi O. Alotaibi,
Ammara Riaz,
Xu Danping,
Muhammad Umair Sardar,
Aftab Ahmad,
Zhuo Zhihang

摘要

Insect pollination of flowering plants plays a fundamental role in terrestrial environments by providing vital ecosystem services for agricultural food production of global importance. The abundance and diversity of insect pollinators is decreasing rapidly across the globe. Cucumber is a cross-pollinated crop of significant agricultural importance which is highly reliant on pollinating insects for fruit production. In the current investigations, four different cultivars, Quice, Dynasty, Mailini, and Full Moon cucumber were planted under caged and uncaged conditions using a split-plot design. The objective of the study was to determine the specific effects of caging on cucumber pollination and to explore the role of insect pollinators, especially honey bees, in increasing cucumber yields. Data was collected on fruit weight, length, number of fruits per plant, and yield of the cucumber crop. The results showed that eleven species of insect pollinators belonging to six different orders including Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera, Odonata and Neuroptera and nine families visited the cucumber flowers. We observed Apis melifera, Apis dorsata, Xylocopa fenestrata, Pieris brassicae, Danaus plexippus, Papilio demoleus, Musca domestica, Eristalis aeneus, Coccinella septempunctata, Ishmura senegalensis and Chrysoperla carnea as pollinators of this crop. The maximum pollination activity was observed during the morning, whereas the lowest foraging activity was noticed during the evening hours. The analysis of relative abundance indices revealed that A. mellifera (0.329) and A. dorsata (0.293) were the most abundant species visiting cucumber blooms. In contrast, C. carnea (0.012) was the least abundant species observed. The diversity index analysis indicated that the maximum Shannon-Weiner diversity index of 0.365 was calculated for A. mellifera, followed by 0.359 for A. dorsata. The lowest Shannon-Weiner diversity index were recorded for I. senegalensis and E. aeneus (0.073). A. mellifera and A. dorsata had the highest (0.152 and 0.149) species evenness (J). Conversely, the lowest species evenness was recorded for C. carnea (0.022). The species richness (d) analysis showed that the hymenoptera and lepidoptera orders had the highest (2.386) species richness, whereas; the lowest (0.386) species richness was recorded for coleoptera, odonatan and neuropteran orders. A. mellifera and A. dorsata were the most vital foragers among all pollinator species, indicating their importance in cucumber pollination. It is evident from the findings that pollinators access had a significant (P < 0.05) effect on the yield of cucumber crop and the maximum yield (53833.65 kg ha^− 1) of cucumber crop was obtained when grown under un-caged conditions which differed significantly from cucumber yield (23996.05 kg ha^− 1) documented when grown under caged conditions. The maximum fruit length (13.03 cm) and weight (59.1 g) were documented when the cucumber crop was grown under uncaged conditions. Among the various cucumber cultivars, Malini had the highest while Full Moon gave the lowest yield. Based on these findings, it is concluded that cucumber is highly dependent on pollinators, and insect pollinators play a crucial role in both the quantity and quality of the cucumber crop. Therefore, it is suggested that placing honeybee colonies near cucumber fields, starting 2 to 3 days after blooming, can significantly enhance cucumber yields.