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<p>Pollination is a critical ecological service provided by bees, impacting agricultural productivity. In male sterile marigold lines, to set seed, assisted pollination is essential, thus the present study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of using honeybees for assisted pollination in marigold hybrid seed production within a naturally ventilated polyhouse. Since the male-sterile seed parent produces only female flowers containing nectar, while the male parent has both pollen and nectar producing flowers, the foraging behavior and pollination efficiency of the insect pollinator <i>Apis cerana</i> F. were analyzed in comparison to, as well as in combination with hand pollination methods to improve hybrid seed production in marigold. Continuous observations throughout the flowering season revealed that bees visited male flowers more frequently (mean number of visits: 19.08 ± 2.17) compared to female flowers (8.08 ± 0.89). Additionally, the average foraging time was longer for male flowers that is pollen parent (493.25 ± 50.02&#xa0;s) than for female flowers that is seed parent (229.25 ± 72.75&#xa0;s). Moreover, results indicated that complementing bee pollination with hand pollination significantly increased seed set (75.09 ± 1.24%) and produced a greater number of seeds per flower (179.46 ± 4.09), higher seed weight (455.22 ± 9.48&#xa0;mg) compared to hand pollination alone. In conclusion, the result of the study indicates that complementing bee pollination (<i>A. cerana</i>) with hand pollination act as an effective approach for substantially enhancing hybrid seed production of marigold, highlighting the potential benefits of integrating bee-assisted pollination with traditional methods in other flower crops also.</p>

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Pollination efficiency and foraging behaviour of honey bees in hybrid seed production of marigold (Tagetes erecta L.)

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2025年7月1日

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  • Veeresh,
  • P. Tejaswini,
  • P. Venkata Rami Reddy,
  • R. Venugopalan,
  • Rajiv Kumar,
  • K. Hima Bindu,
  • T. Usha Bharti,
  • R. H. Laxman

摘要

Pollination is a critical ecological service provided by bees, impacting agricultural productivity. In male sterile marigold lines, to set seed, assisted pollination is essential, thus the present study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of using honeybees for assisted pollination in marigold hybrid seed production within a naturally ventilated polyhouse. Since the male-sterile seed parent produces only female flowers containing nectar, while the male parent has both pollen and nectar producing flowers, the foraging behavior and pollination efficiency of the insect pollinator Apis cerana F. were analyzed in comparison to, as well as in combination with hand pollination methods to improve hybrid seed production in marigold. Continuous observations throughout the flowering season revealed that bees visited male flowers more frequently (mean number of visits: 19.08 ± 2.17) compared to female flowers (8.08 ± 0.89). Additionally, the average foraging time was longer for male flowers that is pollen parent (493.25 ± 50.02 s) than for female flowers that is seed parent (229.25 ± 72.75 s). Moreover, results indicated that complementing bee pollination with hand pollination significantly increased seed set (75.09 ± 1.24%) and produced a greater number of seeds per flower (179.46 ± 4.09), higher seed weight (455.22 ± 9.48 mg) compared to hand pollination alone. In conclusion, the result of the study indicates that complementing bee pollination (A. cerana) with hand pollination act as an effective approach for substantially enhancing hybrid seed production of marigold, highlighting the potential benefits of integrating bee-assisted pollination with traditional methods in other flower crops also.